The King's Consort
by Aozoran
Summary: Have you ever wondered what might have happened if Yuuri was a little older when he arrived in the Great Demon Kingdom for the first time and slaps a different brother on that fateful night...? ConYuu
1. Part 1: Voyage Arc: Arrival Of The King

**Author's Note: I will admit now that this has to be one of my favourite 'twisted' KKM stories that I've ever written. The premise of this story is that instead of being 15 when he arrives and utterly unprepared for being demon king, Yuuri Shibuya is almost 19 and far more mature and stronger willed then before. I always wanted to see him confront things head on in the first few episodes of KKM. XD This is also based on the idea that Yuuri while accidentally attempting to strike Wolfram will accidentally... catch another demon's left cheek... **

**Disclaimer: Own Nothing!**

* * *

><p><strong>Border, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

His first thought was that he had never seen a sky so blue, tiny white clouds drifting across the clear clean expanse of it and a fresh breeze fluttered across his damp cheeks. Every part of him ached, throbbing dully at the force of the impact between him and the ground. The air was so clean, the scents of baking and crushed grass filling his nose and making him almost want to smile in response. The earth beneath him however was rapidly becoming rather uncomfortable as his wet body soaked the ground just beneath him.

Blinking slowly, he let out a slow even breath. This was what he had expected wasn't it? What had been explained to him... though his method of transportation left much to be desired. A toilet. He would never live down the embarrassment of it if anyone found out about the fact that he had been sent to the Great Demon Kingdom after having his head shoved down into a toilet bowl by some rather obnoxious idiots.

Slowly beginning to roll himself up off the ground, his fingers brushed back through his overly long black hair and pushed the dripping strands out of his eyes. Eyes sweeping over his surroundings, his jaw clenched together slightly, expression thoughtful as he took in the farmlands and the village just down the hill. Gaining his feet, he paused for a moment, allowing himself to catch his balance before moving on.

A flash of pale gold caught his attention, his obsidian eyes immediately flickering towards the form of a young woman who was just moving onto the compacted dirt road. Relief trickled through him, though he knew there was one thing that would definitely be an issue. "Excuse me, Miss."

Eyes went wide in her pale face, her entire body recoiling at the sight of him. Her response was a soft whisper of foreign words and meaningless sounds and definitely confirmed the one problem he had. The basket dropped from her hands, the bright purple fruit within it spilling over the cleared earth.

Holding out both hands, he offered her a small apologetic smile. "I'm sorry... I don't mean to frighten you." Though he could guess the fact that he was a man who had more than likely 'dropped from the sky' would definitely give any person a reason to freeze and panic. Dropping to one knee, he carefully attempted to set to rights her basket and its contents. "I am about as harmful as this fruit, Miss."

But her scream tore at his heart as she bolted away from him, terror in her every unintelligible word. Several village men were already hurrying towards him, all armed with either farming tools or rocks.

His hands lifted as he rose back to his feet, showing that he meant them no harm at all. "Please, I apologise for frightening the young lady, I truly mean no harm to any of you."

Something burned across his cheek, another stone slamming into his shoulder. His stomach dropped at the fear and hatred he saw in their eyes, something that cut at his heart. Several more stones struck him as he lifted an arm to shield his face, attempting to retreat, not once attempting to harm them in response to the attack.

Suddenly a dark shadow swept over him as a horse reared sharply, hooves lashing the air as it finally settled, the blonde rider staring down at him with sharp blue eyes. He too started shouting words at Yuuri, his hard sun-tanned face showing his displeasure when it became clear Yuuri had no idea what he said.

The one blessing was that the man's arrival had stopped the villagers from continuing to fling stones at him.

The knight dismounted, stepping towards Yuuri who stood almost level with the tall man's shoulders, though he had enough sense to back up a step, wary about this stranger, knowing he was far more of a threat than the villagers. Before he could take another step backwards, massive hands closed around his head, clamping tightly on his skull. Struggling hard against the grip, his hands against the massive wrists, he almost managed to wrench himself free when fingers dug harder into his scalp and pain flared within him.

A hoarse cry escaped Yuuri's throat, while it felt like something was tearing his mind apart from inside out, a blade slashing through his thoughts and digging up something long buried in his subconscious. His fingernails bit into the man's skin, drawing blade as he fought, finally managing to wrench himself free and sprawled down onto the earth with a heavy thud. Everything inside his head was screaming, memories fragmenting, rubbing together raw as something unfurled itself from within.

Sounds swirled together and slowly came into focus.

"Why in all places did he have to appear here?"

"Its a bad omen, we must get rid of him."

The villagers... their voices swam in and out of focus, before his mind finally stopped spinning, his body trembling with the force of what had been done to him.

"That should have done it." The blonde giant actually looked a touch amused by the fact his wrists and hands were scratched and actually bleeding from where Yuuri had gotten himself free. "You should be able to understand me now."

"Keep your hands to yourself, Sir." Yuuri gained his feet in an instant, jaw clenched and obsidian eyes burning with emotion, showing that he was not one to take such abuse from anyone. He wanted nothing more than to slug the man just once in that rather arrogant face, but tamped down his anger, knowing it would get him nowhere. The knight however had just solved one achingly large problem for him...

"Well now, it looks like the new Demon King actually has some fight in him."

"You would do well to not underestimate me." Yuuri's obsidian eyes flashed with something that lurked just beneath the surface, the magic that sung through every part of him and was now beginning to uncoil itself in response to the threat posed by this man. For once he was intensely grateful his mother had actually convinced him to take up fencing as she had in high school... from the sword at this man's belt he would need every skill he had learned from her. Jennifer of Yokohama had not raised her son to be a coward.

"Such spirit."

"The Demon Tribe's revolting again."

"Put the children in the house..."

"What's the use its over. Our village is going to be burnt down too, just like Kentenow was twenty years ago."

"What a minute he doesn't have a weapon. And what more... he's a double black."

Now that struck Yuuri as odd, though his back straightened, his mind racing over all the facts that were being thrust before him, attempting to work out the best way to get him out of a situation that definitely looked like it was going to become hell in a hand-basket.

They continued to talk as if he weren't there, speaking of rewards and silly notions that made him want to laugh.

"Relax everybody, maybe we can convince this man to go along with us since it appears..."

The condescending tone had done it. He might still be winded from the unexpected landing and the fact that this man had just cracked open his mind and tore him apart from the inside out... but he was not a fool and he would not be used by anyone for personal gain.

Yuuri's right hook caught Adalbert square across the jaw, actually managing to knock the man back several steps and away from him. "I am no one's tool and you would do well to remember that."

Adalbert touched his jaw gingerly, actually surprised to find his fingers coming back wet with blood from his split lip. In those blue eyes glimmered a new respect for the double black that stood before him, unafraid and defiant, even in the face of someone like him.

The sound of approaching horses drew them both out of their confrontation.

"YUURI!"

Obsidian eyes blinked in surprise at that, his head twisting around at the sound of his name from another man's lips. Several riders were hurrying towards him, dust being flung up from under the hooves of the mounts.

"YUURI!"

Obsidian eyes locked with Cinnamon and his heart lurked in his chest at the sight of the warrior astride the chestnut stallion, his chocolate hair flying back from a face that was strikingly handsome. _Wow._ It was the only word that could describe the warrior shouting his name, he was almost like a prince in a fairytale, riding to his rescue.

"Here comes _more_ trouble." The blonde growled out, mounting his horse quickly, though regarding Yuuri with something almost akin to a flicker of dry amusement and respect. It was not everyone that could actually get a good solid punch in against Adalbert Von Grantz.

Urging his horse forwards, Adalbert drew his sword from its sheath, the horse soon speeding into a charge directly towards the knight.

"Get away from Yuuri, Adalbert! And I mean now!"

Yuuri didn't stand still, he was already running towards the nearest guard that had accompanied the knight. The man was harassing the villagers, attempting to drive them away, though stones were being flung at him, hitting their mark and actually knocking the man from the back of the horse, sending him sprawling to the ground.

The horse reared, letting out an inhuman scream as its body was pelted as well. Yuuri didn't pause for a moment, his hand looping into the reins of the stallion, barely pausing for a moment before pulling it down sending a wave of calming magic up into the beast. He was mounted the next second, fisting his hand into the reins, the villagers already approaching them weapons raised not wanting for him to get away.

Holding onto the animal's sides tightly with his knees he urged the mount to rear back again, sharp shoed hooves beating the air and driving the men back, allowing him those precious seconds to grip the hand of the guard and pull him across the saddle behind him.

"I'll be damned before I let anyone get hurt on my account." Hissing out the words, he was sending the horse into a gallop, the other guards soon catching up to them as they flew past the two duelling men and away from the village.

"It won't be long! I will rescue you!"

"Like I need rescuing?" Yuuri shouted back, jaw clenching as he watched Adalbert disengage in his duel against his prince, being forced into retreat knowing that there was no way he could get to the mounted double-black."

Yuuri had to admit as his obsidian eyes met relieved and confused cinnamon, his day had just gone from weird to absolutely down right _insane_. However, he had just meant a prince with eyes that somehow touched his heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Abandoned Village Of Fresinia, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The sky was lit up by the colours of evening when they finally did stop, the Prince and the guards halting in the shared yard of several rundown cottages, the entire area practically swarming with guards who had set up camp for the night. Yuuri drew his own mount to a stop, wanting to groan as every joint and muscle had had protested the fact that he had been flung through the barrier between worlds...

Obsidian eyes meet those of the guard he had rescued, seeing the gratitude reflected in those pale grey orbs and offered the man a tired smile and a nod before his attention was snagged by the dazzlingly beautiful white clad man who had approached him with eyes alight with greeting and warmth.

Yuuri dismounted, shifting his weight in order to ease the slight pain that came from riding for far longer than he was use to. Privately he was thanking every deity he could name that he had been forced into taking riding lessons at the request of the Maou of the Earth. Silently he sent a prayer of thanks to Bob.

"Your Majesty... You're here..." The lavender haired man dropped to one knee, head bowing in respect to him. "I am Gunter Von Christ, its an honour to finally meet you and words alone cannot express how much I have looked forwards to this day."

Offering him a smile, he winced slightly as he shifted again, handing the reins of his horse to the grey eyed guard. Muscles spasmed in protest.

"Your Majesty, were you injured?"

The handsome prince had also descended from his horse, already coming over to stand just behind Yuuri, his cinnamon eyes troubled. One calloused hand tentatively touched against Yuuri's back, supporting him just a little. "Majesty?"

_Oh god._ Yuuri Shibuya could have died happy at the sound of that soft whisper close to his ear, the sensual purr of that accent sliding along his spine. Tipping his head just enough to be able to glimpse that face, he knew exactly what he wanted right at that moment more than a hot soak in a bath... "A few bruises, an ache or two, but nothing that will not right itself in a day or two." Flashing the lavender haired man a smile, he drew strength from the continual soothing slide of those fingers at the small of his back, easing the raw ache just there.

Gunter looked surprised and pleased by the fact that Yuuri Shibuya didn't flinch from the title he had been given nor of a few pains from the ride. "Did you encounter any problems, Conrart?"

Conrart. His prince now had a name to add to that handsome face.

"Von Grantz was there when I arrived." Amusement twinkled in those cinnamon eyes as he gazed at Yuuri with quiet pride. "However, his Highness made it extremely clear that he did not wish for his company."

"How so?"

"I punched him." Yuuri sighed, rubbing a hand back through his hair after a moment, looking thoughtful. "He has one hard jaw." Wiggling one hand at Gunter, he shrugged slightly. "Honestly..."

"Did he harm you at all, Sire?" Gunter was glancing Yuuri over with a troubled glance.

"Actually he did me a favour." Yuuri almost wanted to laugh over the fact now that his head wasn't throbbing and fractures were thankfully beginning to close within his mind... though he definitely didn't want to go digging in there.

"It just occurred to me, why are you speaking the language of our part of the world?"

"That is the favour, though trust me... at the time I wasn't so grateful for him using my skull as a stress ball."

Both men gazed at him with a flicker of confusion over his reference. It appeared some things really didn't quite translate over too well.

"Don't mind me, cultural references..."Yuuri rubbed at his damp hair, grimacing over the fact that he was still damp and his clothes were beginning to smell rather awful considering that he had come through via toilet flush. "Do you happen to have somewhere I can wash... and maybe a change of clothes..." Yuuri tugged at one damp sleeve, droplets of water dripping onto the ground. His hand stretched out to lightly run down the man's arm as he turned to regard Conrart, fingertips brushing against the side of the man's calloused hand, a single pad sliding against one palm. The action was shielded by his body, but he offered the startled warrior a cheerful but tired smile. "Anything is preferable to my own clothes."

"I will make the arrangements immediately, Majesty." Conrart bowed his head slightly, but couldn't help but gaze into those intense obsidian eyes for one long moment, hypnotised by the intelligence and gentleness he saw within them.

* * *

><p>Conrart Weller was stunned into silence.<p>

Yuuri Shibuya was like no one he had ever met before and his hand still tingled where fingers had caressed softly against his own in such a tiny intimate gesture. Hand curling, he held it close to his side, wanting to keep that feeling. He was older than Conrart had calculated, their Maou should be a boy, not a man who knew his own body and mind. Carefully holding the clothing against his chest, he glanced out into the darkness, being able to make out where Yuuri sat amongst the soldiers, chatting animatedly with several, his laughter drifting on the evening breeze.

Approaching slowly, Conrart just stood in the shadows, unable to help but drink in the sight of the man. Beautiful. Swallowing hard around the jolt of heat that skittered through his body, he clenched his fists, shoving away the flutter of something that desperately wanted to escape his heart at the sight. A spark of jealousy rocked him, making him blink sharply against the longing to be the source of such happy laughter.

"You know... I can feel your eyes on me, Conrart." Yuuri's head tipped to the side, pinning Conrart with a steady gaze and a brilliant smile that was aimed directly at him. "Come, sit." Shuffling over on the log, he waved a hand to the spot beside him. "You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"Sire..."

"I don't bite." A flash of white teeth and a wink, Yuuri shifting himself over just a little more. "_Much_."

Conrart couldn't help the smile that tugged on his own lips in response to the teasing words. Settling himself down on the spot that the man had occupied moments before, he offered out the white cotton shirt in his hands.

"Thank god." The man was soon shrugging away the wet down that clung to his shoulders and back, before sliding the slightly too large shirt over the pale white skin, but not before Conrart caught the large dark bruises that ran the length of the his chest and shoulders.

One calloused hand touched the largest of the darkening marks, his brows coming together as a raw anger sparked within his chest at the sight of such injuries on that sleek body. "Who did this?" His voice was a silk growl, the tiny sparks of silver in his cinnamon eyes glinting in the firelight. "Who hurt you, Sire?"

"Don't worry yourself about it."

"Yuuri."

Obsidian eyes closed for a long moment. "As long as you leave them be, I'll have your promise first before I answer."

"Sire... anyone attacking the..."

"They were frightened, Conrart. I don't blame them for being. I dropped out of literally nowhere and start speaking gibberish at them. The villagers stoned me."

Letting out a breath, he nodded once. "You are very merciful."

"_Practical_. I learnt a long time ago that sometimes you need to think from every angle or you can make mistakes that will affect everyone around you." Yuuri's gaze closed tightly for a long moment, his forearms resting lightly against his knees, leaning forwards. He had made the mistake of trusting in someone with the fact that he was... gay... and it had exploded in his face at High School, it had affected his friends, how the world saw him. Even though he couldn't help be feel the burning attraction towards Conrart Weller, he didn't act on the urge to tug the man's head down and just kiss him senseless like he wanted to.

"Do you know why you're here?"

"Yes." Yuuri stretched slightly, before a shiver fluttered through him as the chill of the night air swept through him. Buttoning up the shirt, he was sliding across the space on the log towards Conrart, before hesitating. "I know I am to be the Demon King."

Conrart gazed down at the hand that rested lightly against his arm, fingers curling a little into his jacket and the dark eyes that turned up to watch his face for one long moment. It was rare that anyone willingly touched him like that, his status as a half-blood meaning that most still despised who and what he was. How many times had he felt his fingers being slapped away by his own younger brother, the sting of those words cutting at his heart?

"You know... when you came riding towards me... calling my name like that, you looked like a prince. Dashing and _quite_ charming."

Stunned once more into silence, his mouth opened slightly in an attempt to respond to such words but all he could do was shut it again and swallow around the hope that fluttered within once more. He wanted acceptance. Could he find it with Yuuri, even just a little bit?

"I'm cold... but I don't want to head inside yet."

"Here..." Stretching out one arm, he slowly, tentatively curled it around slender shoulders, drawing Yuuri towards him and against the length of his body. "Sire?"

"Thank you." The younger man breathed out, burying his face against Conrart's shoulder, inhaling softly the scent that clung to the woollen jacket of his uniform. Dark eyes closed, a tiny sigh of relief escaping him.

Dinner was brought over to Conrart by one of the soldiers at Yuuri's previous direction, and when the warrior finished eating, he realised with a start that Yuuri had drifted deeply into sleep. The trust in that single action sent a flare of warmth stirring through him, making him draw the man a little more closely against him protectively. Slowly he set the plate aside and carefully turned enough to slide his arms beneath the sleeping man, one arm just beneath his knees, other beneath his shoulder and lifted him upwards.

Yuuri's head slipped from his shoulder to his throat, nuzzling in with a contented little sigh, warm breath fluttering against the underside of Conrart's jaw. The man carried him towards the cottage, only to watch as the door creaked open at his approach, Gunter looking almost amused over the fact that Conrart had ended up with the sleeping King.

"He seems to trust you already, Conrart." Gunter glanced back inside, before gesturing towards where a bed sat against one wall, a pallet resting nearby where Conrart could sleep close to their king to ensure his safety on the journey back to Covenant Castle. "The troops already grow attached to him... and I cannot help but find myself quite impressed with him. He is not what I expected, but I think he is a blessing to our people."

"I am glad to see you agree, however..." Conrart's cinnamon eyes met those of his teacher, jaw clenching slightly in warning. "My loyalty as of the moment of his arrival is to his Majesty. I will not see any harm come to him, Lord Von Christ, not for the sake of anyone or any cause."

Setting Yuuri down onto the bedding, he carefully drew off the younger man's boots, setting them aside and drawing thick blankets up to cover him. One of his hands was trapped beneath one of Yuuri's as sleepy obsidian eyes blinked open just a little to watch him. "Don't leave me." It was a soft plea that only Conrart could hear.

"My life and my heart are yours, Sire. I would never leave your side."

The back of warm fingertips lightly touched against Conrart's cheek in a slow delicate caress. "My prince."

Conrart couldn't help but smile at that, leaning into the touch, before carefully sliding that arm back under the blankets as Yuuri drifted back to sleep, the day clearly having drained the energy right out of him. "Sleep well, my King."

* * *

><p>Smoothing the fabric of the shirt down, he sat upright and glanced outside, catching the flickers of the first light of dawn appearing over the edge of the horizon through the window pane. Pushing back the blankets, he stood silently, stretching lazily before gazing around himself at the quiet little cottage. His eyes however drifted to the man sleeping on the pallet no more than a few feet away, his handsome face flushed with sleep and his wild locks falling across the pillow. The sword however remained propped up nearby well within arm's reach, ready to defend him.<p>

Finding his boots, he slid them on before standing from the bed, moving across the floor to crouch down beside Conrart, one hand reaching out to smooth back the wild mass of chocolate coloured hair from the man's face. A soft sound escaped the back of the man's throat, cinnamon eyes blinking slightly.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"Yuuri..." It was a low sexy sigh of his name, the man rousing himself out of sleep, eyes blinking to clear the sleep haze from them.

"Do you think we could go find breakfast?"

"Certainly, Sire." Slowly sitting up, Conrart was surprised at the fact that he felt so relaxed, his body thrumming with energy, warmth creeping through his limbs. "You are up early."

"Habit." He responded before they were soon moving out the door together.

Conrart slowly buckling on his sword belt and jacket, smoothing the wrinkles out of the thick wool. There was something about this morning that sparked something in his soul as he watched the man beside him greet the slowly waking camp. It was clear they would be on the road well before Gunter had thought they would be, the Royal Aide loathe to disturb the King's sleep.

Sitting again by the warm fire, he automatically leaned against Conrart's side this time, their hips and shoulders touching. "What exactly is this?" One dark brow lifted as he studied the stew or omelette of some kind, curious about its contents, but shrugged slightly and started eating without complaint.

"It has a mix of vegetables and spices with rishi eggs."

"It's good." Yuuri said around a mouthful, swallowing it down. "At least Gunter doesn't have me sitting in there, serving me some delicacies that just make you want to..." He pulled a face and dropped his head to rest against Conrart's shoulder content to lean against the strength of the man beside him.

"I have to admit, some things that they serve are quite... questionable." Conrart chuckled softly to himself, liking the way Yuuri was relying on him, trusting him to look out for him.

"How long should it take to get to wherever it is we are heading to?"

"An another day at most."

"Good, any longer and you will hear me complaining about saddles and certain body parts."

"You appear to be a competent rider, I was... surprised."

"Bob insisted and for once I'm damn glad that he did. I usually don't like being unable to do something that is so basic and necessary for survival." Though he didn't know how people would take him actually proving he was a natural with a sword, there was something about fencing that had truly brought out a sense of self in him. The last thing he wanted to be was a burden on anyone.

"Bob?"

"The Maou of the Earth. Mysterious, old and full of weird random wisdom that makes you want to go 'huh?'. Shori, that's my older brother, is going to replace him in a few years."

That surprised Conrart, but he didn't comment, delighted by the fact Yuuri trusted in him and would turn to him to confide in. "Are you... certain about taking the throne?"

"Yes. I'm willing to do everything it takes in order to serve this Kingdom. I want to do what good I can for those around me, because even if I and my name are forgotten in a thousand years, what I do now will be remembered. The kindness we show others..." Yuuri's obsidian eyes sparkled for a moment, a soft laugh escaping him. "My mother has rubbed off on me more than I thought."

"She sounds like a wise and gentle woman." Though that brought a smile to his lips at the memory of Miko Shibuya, strong, a touch stubborn but one who cared about all those around her.

"She's all of that... and has the best sword arm in Japan." He could remember how many times his mother had defeated him over the years and it was only recently that he had been able to best her. "If you're finished, we should probably go get ready for the ride, the sooner we go the sooner I can stay off the horse."

* * *

><p><strong>The Road To The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Your Majesty!"

Yuuri Shibuya turned at the sound, surprised by the title and still not quite use to it from those around him. Drawing his horse to a halt, Conrart was pausing just beside him, both of them regarding the purple-haired girl who stood by the roadside to greet them. A bowl was clutched tightly in her hands and was being offered up to him.

"Water." A smile touched his lips, reminding him that he was quite thirsty, but he tipped his head slightly to the side, aware of Gunter Von Christ's troubled look. "It looks wonderful. Do you want some too, Conrart?"

Both Gunter and Conrart looked surprised and relieved by Yuuri's soft offer, though the young man clearly didn't like the thought that had occurred to him when he had caught sight of Gunter's troubled expression. Though Yuuri believed that this girl would not harm them and it was only on that belief that he had asked such a thing of the man who was slowly working his way into Yuuri's heart.

"Sire." He offered the double-black a warm smile, before leaning down and accepting the bowl, drinking a little of its contents, pausing for a moment as no taste registered on his palette before handing it over. "My thanks."

Accepting the bowl, he downed the rest of it, relieved when it eased the parched feeling that still resided within him. His eyes turned back towards the young girl, before he offered her a gentle smile. "This was wonderful and just what I needed." The bowl was returned to her, though Yuuri's hand reached out to lightly touch Conrart's arm, lingering on his elbow for a moment, their eyes meeting.

The young girl was soon heading back towards the cluster of houses that rested on one of the nearby hillsides, a smile on her lips.

"In the future, don't eat or drink anything that we haven't prepared for you, Sire." Gunter's expression was grave, his lips pressed together in a thin line. "Though..."

"Do you realise Gunter that if anyone was hurt on my account, it would trouble me greatly?" His eyes levelled with his Aide, dark eyes meeting lavender. "I am not a fool when it comes to such things. I know that, to many I will be an unwelcome intruder... a stranger. I would be grateful if you would indicate to me what you deem safe in future so I can avoid anyone being harmed because of this. I appreciate and respect your judgement, but I don't want to risk another's life on my own account." His fingers touched lightly against Conrart's cheek, stroking lightly against the shaved smoothness. "I trusted that she would not hurt us or I would never have asked such of you, my Prince."

Conrart leaned into the touch, his hand curling around Yuuri's fingers for a moment, holding them close against his jaw. "Do I really belong in a fairytale for children?"

"Maybe not for children."

Gunter blinked at the exchange, but both men were laughing softly as they continued on, both clearly not willing to share the little thing they shared together with others.

* * *

><p><strong>The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The cheers of the crowds filled the air, the streets lined with people and soldiers as they were slowly approaching the main entry gate into the Capital of the Great Demon Kingdom. Music drifted on the warm afternoon breeze, drawing out more citizens from their homes to press in close to get their first glimpses of the new Demon King.

Yuuri glanced down at his clothes, feeling slightly silly dressed in a slightly too big shirt and his own modern black pants and boots. There was nothing noble at all about it, but they hadn't been able to find anything else to fit him as he had been taller than any of them had guessed.

"You can't tell me all this is for my arrival."

"It is, Sire." Conrart rode beside Yuuri, noting the slight discomfort the younger man had with all the attention turned on him. Yet not a word of worry or complaint escaped their new King. "I..."

Gunter suddenly appeared on the other side of Yuuri, face flushed with joy and that... reverent charm. "Welcome back, your Majesty! This is your country. Never forget that everything began with us, the Demon Tribe! We will prosper for eternity with the power, wisdom and bravery that defeated the Originators! This is your country, Majesty, the Kingdom of glory! Praise be to the Great One! Welcome to your kingdom and its capital!"

Yuuri almost wanted to laugh as he watched Gunter's enthusiasm and hand gestures, his obsidian eyes glancing to his other side at Conrart and they shared a quiet smile. "What exactly do you call this kingdom?"

"This is the Great Demon Kingdom."

"Aptly named." Yuuri mused, though he found himself accepting flowers from children who darted forwards to offer up the bunches of brightly coloured blooms. His eyes however fell on a blonde man who stood within the first main arch along the street, six guards flanking him. Shifting slightly, he glanced towards Conrart, lifting one brow and tipping his head just slightly to indicate the older noble blocking their way. "Should I know him, Conrart?"

"That, Sire, is Lord Stoffel Von Spitzweg, he is the older brother of the former Demon Queen." Conrart's jaw tightened, his cinnamon eyes burning with trapped emotions, fingers tightening around the reins of his horse. "He abused his position while serving as de-facto monarch. Stoffel lost his power when the former Demon Queen renounced the throne. He will probably try to ingratiate himself with you in order to win your favour."

"Don't worry, Sire, we are keeping an eye on him. I suppose Gwendal and Wolfram feel the same way about this as we both do."

For all the man looked harmless, the cornflower blue eyes that regarded him held a hint of something that set Yuuri's nerves on edge. "I will heed your warning." His gaze flickered back to Conrart's face, wishing he could reach out again and sooth away the pain that lingered in those silver speckled cinnamon eyes. "I would hope to understand more in due course at your discretion."

"Of course, Sire."

"Yuuri." He whispered softly to Conrart, "Please... I don't want to be Majesty or Sire to you."

Conrart was startled at the request, his horse edged closer to Yuuri's, not wanting to be overheard. "I will try in future to remember, Yuuri, though I have a feeling it will be a while before I do not stumble over it."

"Understandable."

He was grateful when Gunter intercepted Stoffel, somehow getting them past before they got waylaid getting to the castle.

It was a blessing to finally enter through the main gates of the castle, his head tipping back and taking in his surroundings with interest, before his gaze stopped on the powerfully built man hovering by the stairs, a scowl planted across his face.

Finally able to dismount, his entire body wanted to slump right onto the ground, every part of him aching rather badly, reminding him that riding all day on horseback would soon become a regular mode of transport for him. A hand lightly rested against the back of one of his shoulders, steadying him while he leaned into Conrart's support as the man moved in protectively to his side.

"Your Majesty." Gunter was coming to his other side, gazing down at him slightly in worry.

"Your Majesty?" Gwendal Von Voltaire scowled when his dark blue eyes fixed on Yuuri, the man's lips pressing together in a sharp line, clearly unimpressed by what he saw.

"If you have a problem with me, Sir, I would ask that you respectfully take it up with me rather than glowering at me as if I am unworthy of your notice."

Gwendal looked surprised by the comeback, thought only his blue eyes revealed that in the way they widened ever so slightly at the rebuke. Their new King was clearly not someone who could ever be considered a weak minded fool.

"Don't tell me _he's_ the new Demon King?" A voice quieted them all as Wolfram stood at the top of the steps, blonde hair gleaning in the warm afternoon sunshine.

Yuuri blinked just once as he stared up at the younger man, a spark of interest fluttering though him at the sight, this was a beautiful man, but one glance to the side and that feeling evaporated like mist at the sight of Conrart Weller. He did apparently have a preference for fairytale princes with large calloused hands and a charming little smile.

* * *

><p><strong>HEHE! first episode done XD Nowwwwww XD the exciting one!<strong>


	2. Part 2: A Slap And A Duel

**Author's note: OMG this story really just grows along on its own. XD I can't believe I've written seven and a half thousand words in less than a day! LOOOOL XD I am delighted by how much people like this one XD I try and stick to the plotline of the anime. XD It actually turns out quite interesting. Hope you all enjoy the second part of 'The King's Consort' **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing unfortunately. **

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Yuuri sank lower into the water, his eyes closing slowly, letting out a soft appreciative groan as the heat soothed away the soreness that had invaded his muscles and joints, easing up every part of him. Dipping his head beneath the surface, he wet his dark mane of hair and swept it out of his eyes when he shifted upright again. "This was reserved just for me... or now that I think about it..." His eyes closed and he considered exactly what had been plaguing his body more than the soreness for the past two days.

Conrart Weller had a way of making Yuuri want nothing more than to pounce the man, strip him and coax every last sound from that well shaped mouth by use of his own. Groaning, he sagged a little further down into the water, one hand lightly touching against the part of him that was still extremely stiff despite the water. Hissing out a breath when his fingers grazed against it, obsidian eyes closed, a shiver running down his back as he tried to draw his hand away knowing being caught like that would definitely lead to questions about the source of his... arousal.

He couldn't have what he wanted. Conrart was more than likely straighter than... Pushing that thought away, he growled low in his throat at the thought of a woman's hands on the tawny skin of _his_ prince. Sparks of possessiveness curled within him and he scrubbed a hand over his face angrily, knowing he was treading on very dangerous ground already. If they knew... it would probably horrify those around him. For all his strength of will, the words that had been flung had him still knew how to sting and cut deep.

A sweet scent tickled his nose, his head twisting to search for its source and only then became aware of the fact that he was being watched.

Obsidian eyes stopped abruptly on the form of the rather well endowed woman standing practically naked but for a skimpy towel held before her. His eyes didn't wander or linger on any curve of her body but remained fixed on her face and the vivid green eyes watching him with interest.

"Oh my," Her brilliant green eyes slimmed over what she could see of his slender but muscular body above the surface of the water. "Tell me, Sweetie, are you the new Demon King?"

The one immediate effect of her presence was the thankful and rapid retreat of his rather rampant erection. Women had always actually caused that for him and he was thanking every deity he could name for it. "I am, my Lady." Bowing his head slightly, he was grateful he could respond with the proper respect and not even get too embarrassed about the crazy situation.

"It's an amazing coincidence to meet you in a place like this."

He was already moving across the pool, his hand already on the edge when a hand lightly touched his shoulder and he turned slightly. She was right behind him, her blonde hair damp and curling from the heavy steam laden air. Their eyes met for one intense moment, obsidian meeting green squarely and she blinked once, a touched surprised.

"My Lady, if you will excuse me, I have a feeling I might have been directed to the wrong bath."

"Sweetie..."

Offering her a tight smile, he was already slipping from the water, not so modest about his nudity as he wrapped the towel around his slender hips and she could clearly see for one moment though he didn't realise that he was completely... limp. "You are beautiful." He said softly, before shaking his head a little. "But no..." And he was already moving through the doorway, wanting to seek out his clothing and the reassurance of something that didn't make him feel inadequate and unaccepted.

* * *

><p>"A gorgeous naked woman in the bath?" Conrart blinked at Yuuri with a touch of surprise and a frown lightly tugged at the corners of his mouth, cinnamon eyes sweeping over the young King and unable to help the stab of jealousy that caught him squarely in the gut at that particular pronouncement from the man before him.<p>

"I thought Gunter said it was the private bath for the Demon King..." Shaking his head slightly, he let out a sigh and synched the towel a little more tightly into place around his hips.

Conrart groaned, knowing exactly who and why the other person had been in the bath. "What am I going to do..." When it was one's mother who took to anything male and attractive that entered the castle...

"Who do you think she was?"

"Majesty, please put on this garment." Gunter turned towards Yuuri and a tiny tickle of blood leaked out of a nostril, his gaze still remaining on Yuuri's face.

"Pardon?"

"You should dress, you will be attending a dinner party in your honour." Conrart was already shifting forwards, his larger body blocking Yuuri's from Gunter's eyes, carefully drawing a second down around the younger man's shoulders, covering over the heat flushed skin. His fingertips lingered against the softness of that pale flesh over hard trim muscles, before he finally drew his touch away, though reluctant to step back away from Yuuri.

Gunter offered out something to him and Yuuri lifted the black piece of cloth upwards, both raven brows arching in surprise as he took in exactly what Gunter had handed him. A black g-string dangled from between his fingers, the fabric barely enough to cover anything at all. "What exactly do you call this?" Amusement laced Yuuri's tone as his gaze flicked from Conrart's slightly flushed face to that of Gunter.

"It is kind of our standard underwear." Conrart replied, "Not the best in winter but..."

Gunter suddenly thrust a third towel at a rather startled Conrart whom took it from him as Gunter covered his mouth. "I'm so sorry..." And the man was immediately rushing from the room, clearly either embarrassed or... Yuuri really didn't want to think on the Aide's response to g-strings and men... considering his own body was responding rapidly to the fact Conrart had been looking him over out of the corner of his eye earlier.

When Gunter had hurried out the door, Yuuri turned to glance at Conrart and flashed him a wicked smile. "Should I have told him I don't wear underwear?"

Now that made Conrart's slight flush darken rather adorably. The man inhaled deeply, head turned to regard Yuuri with a keen interest. "Yuuri... you smell fantastic..."

Now it was Yuuri's turn to blush a little, swallowing hard and shifting a touch, hoping Conrart wouldn't look down and realise that those words and the fact they were nose to nose had left him harder than a rock... "I think it's the shampoo I found in the bath..."

There was a rather loud crash from just outside the door with several exclamations of, "Bad, Gunter, bad!"

That had both Conrart and Yuuri desperately trying to keep in their laughter.

* * *

><p>Yuuri settled himself down into his chair, his hands resting lightly on the table before him, his gaze flickering around the room and taking in the stark practical furnishings and the fact that the place felt as remote and uninviting as most of the castle seemed at times. Candles and torches lit the room however in a warm rather inviting glow. It looked far more like a war-room meeting than a dinner party and he hoped that it wouldn't be like this in future. Privately he already missed the shared meal with Conrart by the fire the night before, the warmth of the man's body against his side and the laughter of the troops around them.<p>

"Good evening everyone."

Gwendal's navy blue eyes narrowed on Yuuri's face, expression clearly showing that he was still quite unimpressed by the young man who sat at the table with them. Charcoal gray hair framed the handsome but stern face, just as Conrart was coming to stand beside him, a smile on his protector's lips.

"Yuuri, may I introduce my older brother, Lord Gwendal Von Voltaire..." Conrart shifted, his gaze turning towards the young teenage blonde seated just around the table from Conrart's empty chair. "And this is my younger brother, Lord Wolfram Von Bielefeld..." A hand reached out to lightly touch the boy's shoulder and immediately it was slapped away harshly. A wounded look crossed over the soldier's face for just a moment, cinnamon eyes dark with a hidden pain that stabbed straight through Yuuri's heart when he saw it.

"Don't touch me! I don't want your filth human hands anywhere near me." Green eyes blazed up at Conrart, distain in every feature, jaw set in an arrogant arch. "I have never considered you to be my brother. The very notion sickens me."

Everything within Yuuri rebelled at the sight of Conrart being the victim of such raw undisguised hatred, he wanted to rage at the blonde for ever saying such a thing to a man who was nothing but warm and supportive. He knew what that kind of hatred did to a person, because it had happened so often to him when friends found out that he was gay.

"As you wish." Conrart stepped away, his shoulders hunching just a little, before he was plastering on a smile for Yuuri's benefit. "I realised I have not mentioned that my brothers and I do not share the same father and for that reason my name is Conrart Weller and I am not considered to be a member of the ten aristocratic families. There was nothing distinguishing about my father except for his swordsmanship and the fact that he was a human."

"And he was a hot hunk of stuff." A feminine voice came from one side of the room, a black clad woman appearing from one of the entrance ways into the dining hall, her long hair flowing around her in a cloud of spun gold.

All three brothers turned towards the approaching woman with a greeting of 'good evening, Mother'.

Yuuri's eyes widened slightly on the sight of the blonde from the bath and glanced back towards the three men before him with an almost sceptical glance.

"Long time no see, Conrart Darling." One long nailed hand reached out and lightly touched against Conrart's chest as she leaned her body against the strong one of the half blooded man. "You look more handsome than ever since I last saw you... you look so much like your father."

"And you, Mother, are even more beautiful than ever."

"Stop it with the flattery. I bet you say that to all the girls."

Yuuri wanted to growl. Everything inside of him rebelled at anyone touching Conrart so intimately before him, his fingers clenched into fists in his lap, his jaw clenched as he dropped his eyes, desperate for no one to notice the strain running through his body. Her words were a reminder to him of the fact that he could never have exactly what he had finally realised he wanted upon meeting Conrart Weller.

"Oh Gwen... you're frowning again..." Her hands were brushing over the green uniform that covered Gwendal's broad chest, his expression neutral, though his blue eyes held a softness to them as he looked down at his mother. "That face is so unappealing. You won't get anything from the pretty girls of the kingdom that way."

It only took her a moment to turn her attention towards her youngest child, her sudden switching of topics was almost adorable in its own way if Yuuri had noticed. Her arms wrapped around Wolfram tightly, pulling the boy's head down squarely into her cleavage in the most embarrassing of ways. Wolfram squirming just enough to be able to lift his head, cheeks flushing in embarrassment at the tight hold she had on him.

"Oh Wolfie! You are the splitting image of me, all the men here must be lusting after you." Her green gaze however flicked to Yuuri at those words.

Yuuri recoiled as if struck, body straightening in his chair, his eyes immediately darting down to the table top and not knowing quite what she meant by that statement, either to rebuke him for earlier or...

"Mother..." Wolfram flushed even more hotly. "I just saw you this morning besides I'm not really into having men lusting after me."

"You mean boys these days aren't into that?"

"Well I'm not."

Conrart's cinnamon eyes had caught the flinch, worry immediately lining his features and he was about to move towards Yuuri, wanting to remove the expression from that beautiful face when his mother's attention turned immediately to Yuuri preventing him from acting.

"Your Majesty! Weren't we just swapping soap in the bath?" Her hands were immediately curling into his black jacket, leaning into his side, but it was clear she wasn't about to do anything more than that. "You are the Demon King, aren't you?"

"Really... that is enough." Gunter thankfully rescued Yuuri from the surprising and embarrassing crush. "Please don't fall in love with the new Demon King. It's entirely inappropriate for the retired Demon Queen."

"Stop it, Gunter." Her hand reached out to lightly stroked the cheek and jaw of the royal aide, fingertips lingering on the pale skin. "Don't get so upset, you sound like a jealous lover."

"You are the former Demon Queen?" That had surprised him, his obsidian eyes widening a little as he looked up at the woman who had come into the room like a fluffy golden whirlwind.

"Welcome to the Great Demon Kingdom, King Yuuri, I'm Lady Cecilie Von Spitzweg and you just inherited my old job. Please do call me Celi, Sire."

Thankfully enough... that was when the food decided to arrive and everything decided to settle itself down. Soon food was being placed before everyone and they were encouraged to eat with the sporks on the table. Yuuri was rather amused by them and was grateful to have calmed himself enough to appear unaffected by what he had seen, though the sooner this dinner was over the better... He needed to clear his head and take out the bubble of anger within him on something that wouldn't complain about him hacking at it with a sword.

"You came from a very distant country, didn't you?" Cecilie offered Yuuri a warm smile, her green eyes softening and looking over the mysterious young King that had come to help their people. "I'm just so thrilled that you have assumed the title of King. I want to go on a journey of free love... you can call it a hobby of mine."

"That is commendable. Love is something that should be welcomed in all its forms."

"I assume you have some concerns since you became our new king rather suddenly. But your Highness, please don't worry your pretty little head, I'm sure my older brother and lovely sons will be happy to assist you with any problems."

"Oh Mother, _please_." Wolfram expression had once again become that mask of irritation and arrogance that so rubbed Yuuri the wrong way. "I will not serve some stranger from another world, besides we have no way of knowing if he's even remotely worthy of becoming the Demon King." A finger pointed straight into Yuuri's face, showing his distain and disrespect all in one movement.

"Very well," Cecilie lifted one delicate hand to her lips. "Then are you willing to become the king?"

"Absolutely not, the fact is that I'm not suitable for the position. My big brother is the far better choice. Isn't that right, Gwendal?"

"But Wolfie Baby, think about it. It's not like you're entirely unaware of what happened to the king that refuse to heed the will of the Great One."

Wolfram actually recoiled at that, retreating until his back pressed against the chair, his green eyes wary and taking in his mother's words.

Yuuri remained silent, though his eyes flickered towards Gwendal, knowing that it was these men around him that would make or break his rule. He needed their respect and their loyalty if he was to do the job he had been taught and instructed in as much as Bob could guide him.

"You think this is some kind of game, don't you? Are you only here for the _power_and the title?" Gwendal's dark eyes pinned Yuuri to his seat, searching his face and clearly trying to get a read on what kind of personality he had. "You have no intention on fulfilling your duties to this country. You're just a foreigner, a _guest_."

"You do not have the right to make such disrespectful assumptions, Lord Von Voltaire." Conrart murmured softly, his cinnamon eyes hard and locking with Gwendal's. He had personally seen just what was inside of Yuuri Shibuya in those first few minutes... he had not hesitated to save one of his soldiers risking his own safety in the process. Yuuri had sat out with the troops, talked with them, finding out more about them instead of retreating to the warmth and comforts of the cottage. "Don't you think that is rather arrogant of you to assume such things?"

"You know how many sacrifices our citizens will have to make. Why should they be forced to show respect and loyalty to a King who doesn't have the slightest intension of carrying out his duty."

One fist clenched at Gwendal's words, the thought that he would ever abuse any power given to him made every muscle in his body tighten. However, he held onto his anger, his jaw set when he lifted his gaze to meet that of Gwendal Von Voltaire steadily. "You do not know me, Lord Von Voltaire, if you think that power or greed would taint my actions. I ask that you give me a chance to prove my capabilities as Demon King before you render judgement upon me. I only wish to serve the people of this country as best I can. I am not a guest, this is my home and where I belong. "

Gwendal swallowed his next words, knowing that to argue again would be to show his own arrogance and if Yuuri was correct it would definitely not play out well.

"I ask for your patience and your support during this transition. I am not afraid of working hard and doing all that is required of me. I ate alongside the soldiers, I spoke to them on my way here and I would never send those men into battle without a clear reason to in protection of this nation. I have no love of war."

"What evidence do you have that he is the heir to the throne?" Wolfram was on his feet, anger seething visibly across the younger man's face, green eyes blazing in hatred towards Yuuri. It was clear Wolfram hadn't been expecting such an answer from Yuuri and was obviously offended that Yuuri had the gall to correct Gwendal's assumptions. "I won't be deceived by his language or the colour of his eyes and his hair. Its obvious he's nothing more than a lowly commoner born to filthy unworthy humans."

"Wolfram, keep in mind its the spirit that counts not who he was born to." Conrart's muscles clenched and the man's eyes flickered with silent emotions. If you're so particular about lineage, King Yuuri's father was a proper subordinate chosen by the Demon King of the Earth."

Yuuri was surprised by the fact that Conrart knew that, they had spoken often during the ride about Yuuri's mother, but not of his father and that left Yuuri wondering if Conrart knew more about him than he had originally let on.

"That's hard to believe, even if that is the case his mother is still a human. I bet she's just a cheap hussy, some street trollop that came from dubious pedigree."

That did it.

Conrart caught the flare of outrage flashing across Yuuri's face in that one heart-stopping moment, the anger that simmered there wasn't just for Yuuri's mother but also for the way Wolfram had treated Conrart when all the man had done was care about his younger brother.

Two chairs skittered backwards, a plate crashing to the floor and spilling the food across the stone.

Conrart had stepped towards Wolfram, wanting to do something... anything to ease the pain he saw in Yuuri's eyes. "Yuuri, wait!"

When...

SLAP!

A palm connected hard with warm skin, the man being forced back a step by the power behind the strike.

The entire room froze as Yuuri stood there almost panting, his head down, eyes closed tightly against the roiling emotions that were crammed within his soul. Humiliation warring with guilt and pain. His stinging palm curled into a fist by his side and he wasn't looking at Wolfram, wasn't looking at the man he had struck.

"Your Majesty!" Gunter was hurrying across the room towards him, he could feel the large hand resting against one of his shoulders. "You must listen to reason, you must take it back."

His eyes refused to open, refused to look up into the face of Wolfram Von Bielefeld knowing that he would see the same disgust written on that face as he had seen on so many others. "I'm sorry but you heard what he said. I'm not taking it back, not ever." Hands clenched at his sides, fingers digging into his palms.

"Your Majesty..." Gunter sounded a touch confused...

"I'm not taking it back."

"So you're telling us, what's done is done?"

"Yes. He deserved it."

"Wonderful!"

Now that snapped Yuuri's head up, his obsidian eyes suddenly staring into not he face of the young blonde but a startled Conrart Weller, one cheek blazing a bright red. Fingertips were pressed against the skin as he stared in shock down at Yuuri, cinnamon eyes wide and... almost hopeful.

Yuuri's mouth opened and he closed it just as quickly as no sound came out. Horror filled him for a moment, the thought of him striking his sweet, protective prince slashed a jagged line through his heart.

Cecilie was on her feet beside them looking quite delighted by the entire thing. "Then the pact is sealed and love is in bloom!"

All the anger immediately slipped out of him as he blinked and turned towards Cecilie, confusion written all across his face at those words, however his eyes drifted back to Conrart. His hand reached out to lightly brush against the still reddened cheek, thumb stroking it in silent apology, though they both could hear the low growl of outrage from Wolfram.

"Gunter... did I just do something... I had no idea about?" Yuuri's voice was soft and badly shaken, his expression showing the anguish he felt over having ever touched Conrart in anger even if it was by accident. Calloused fingers curled around the back of his own, holding his hand just there, though Conrart still looked stunned by the whole incident.

"In accordance with our kingdom's ancient rituals, you just asked for his hand."

"You mean I..." Yuuri Shibuya gaped like a fish and felt his heart flutter wildly in his chest at the thought of this beautiful, strong man ever belonging to him like that. "I proposed and..."

"That is correct, Sire, you just asked him to marry you. Slapping one's opponent's left cheek with the palm of the hand is the act of proposing among aristocrats."

"But we are both men." His voice held the edge of bitter pain that had been burned into him over years, his obsidian eyes darting away from Conrart's as he stood there. He couldn't move away even if he had wanted to, Conrart hadn't let him go... but he didn't want to lose the friendship and delicate trust between them. Yuuri Shibuya had never felt so accepted before by anyone, Conrart had made him feel for the past two days that it was alright to be himself.

"That is not so unusual in our culture."

Was it truly alright? Was it truly fine to...? Or could they have caught him? He hated to ever be suspicious of those around him, but time and betrayal had cut away some part of his innocence a long time before.

"How dare you!" Wolfram stood there seething, face burning with shame and humiliation over the fact that if Conrart hadn't stepped in front of him it would have been him who would have been struck. "How dare you humiliate me. First you come into our home and now you think to... its _disgusting_... we all know that you..."

A sound low in Yuuri's throat reminded him that this was the boy who had insulted not only him but also Conrart. Anger swelled deep inside of him, his entire body vibrating with the force of it. Stepping protectively before Conrart, his obsidian eyes levelled on Wolfram. "Hold your tongue!" Magic flared, just once, a fine shimmer of blue rising across Yuuri's skin, revealing that he wasn't exactly defenceless. "I would never have proposed to you."

Wolfram snarled viciously. One hand swept out to send another plate crashing to the floor, a butter knife spinning across the stone to come to rest against the toe of Yuuri's boot.

"Highness, don't pick that up."

Yuuri reached down to pick up the utensil and everyone stilled sharply in response as he stood, the dull blade in one hand.

"So you picked it up."

And the only thought that crossed Yuuri's mind was 'oh crap, what now?'

* * *

><p>"So dropping or picking up a knife, any kind of knife is a challenge to a duel? I have a feeling I don't want to know what picking up a spork would mean..." Yuuri gave Conrart a shaky smile, really not knowing how to find his balance at all after the events of the evening. He didn't know quite what to say to Conrart Weller after his rather public proposal to the man.<p>

"If you think its too heavy, let me know." Conrart glanced over Yuuri, watching him handle the blade he had managed to find and couldn't help the slight flush that still ran across his face. It had startled him and some part of his heart clung to the fact that after Yuuri had understood the significance of the strike he had not rescinded it. He was currently... the fiancé to the King, to the man who looked at him with warm obsidian eyes and a smile solely for him. "I did my best to find you a sword that is as light as possible."

"Its too light." Yuuri turned the hilt over between his hands, frowning and regarding the several other blades Conrart had returned with to the training ground. Moving over to them, he set the wooden practice sword down before lifting each blade and testing it with a swordsman's familiarity. Finding one of middling weight and good balance, he nodded in appreciation before finally returning to Conrart's side. "This one is far more appropriate."

Cinnamon eyes lit up as he approached Yuuri, watching with rapt appreciation at the slow easy grace of their King with a naked blade in his hands. This was a surprise, but a definitely welcome one. No one would have ever suspected Yuuri Shibuya of being a competent swordsman. "You've learnt?"

"For the past five years." Yuuri grinned up at Conrart. "My Mother encouraged me to take up fencing and I have to say I found I actually liked it more than baseball. I placed second in the Nationals." Pride showed in his face as his chin lifted.

"Are you up for a little Sparing, Yuuri?"

"Are you kidding? I've been dying to get my hands on a sword for _days_."

Both of them were already moving in the age old tradition of duelling swordsmen, their blades lifted and they shared a small ceremonial bow before they were springing at each other. Metal met metal, and the two men were plunging headlong into the wild dance of bodies and razor sharp metal.

Conrart was the better of them, he knew it the moment their swords locked and he could feel the strength of those powerful muscles moving beneath tawny skin. Yuuri however was determined not to give up in their duel, meeting blow for blow, the clangs of metal reverberating off the walls of the courtyard. Relying more on quickness and agility rather than strength, he was keeping his ground.

Both of them were suddenly locked once more, blades crossed, their faces only inches apart. The two men were flushed with heat and pleasure from their battle, bodies sensitive and thrumming with another kind of energy that stalked them both.

"I yield to you." Yuuri whispered softly, lessening the pressure on his end as Conrart stepped back and sheathed his blade. "That was..."

"Wonderful." Conrart remarked, rubbing a hand upwards across his brow and brushing away the sweat that clung there.

"How did you know about my Father?" Yuuri questioned softly, his head tipping to the side as he regarded Conrart with interest, feeling that now was the time he could ask those hard questions, ones he had hesitated in asking earlier fearing Conrart might leave him.

"I met him, we attended a Boston Red Sox game together." Conrart looked a touch nervous as he regarded Yuuri for one long moment before finally speaking up about something he should have mentioned earlier. "Seventeen years ago, while protecting your spirit, I was instructed to take it to Earth... I went to the place you were born... I returned after I made certain that the Demon King had safely been born. Your mother greatly impressed me, I see a lot of her in you. She was an exceptionally brave woman. Even though she was about to give birth, she was yelling directions at the Taxi driver."

"I'm almost nineteen." Yuuri whispered, but considering the fact that he as in a different world, it was quite possible that there was a difference in the rate of time passing between the two sides. "But... you can't mean..." He almost wanted to laugh. "You're my Godfather, the man who was sharing her ride."

"I never dreamed that she would name you after the word I mentioned to her that day."

"I've been waiting for this day for the past fifteen years."

_Fate_. Yuuri flushed in silent pleasure over this story, something that linked them together, wove there pasts into something more than what it had been before. Before reality crashed back into him with the force of an out of control Semi, ploughing him down. Swallowing hard, his face paled sharply, his sword being slipped away and his right hand curled and uncurled slightly, remembering exactly what he had done.

"Yuuri?" The man stepped forwards, his eyes holding a glitter of concern as he studied Yuuri's face. "What is it? What troubles you so?"

"I'm sorry." The King breathed out, voice catching on a silent sob that wanted to be wrenched from him, his chest aching as he turned his head away, stepping back. "I got you into this giant mess... I don't know... I'm so sorry... you probably never considered once... with me..." When all he had been recently thinking about was Conrart Weller. "It must repulse you..."

"Wait... I don't understand what concerns you..." Hand lightly touching one shoulder, he actually felt the younger man flinch. Conrart realised that beneath Yuuri's smile lay something that had shattered apart something within him. "I won't judge you... Yuuri, I hope you know that..."

A bitter laugh rang from deep within Yuuri's soul as he turned. "I'm a homosexual." The words were forced out, his hands clenched as he shook with the force of so much pent up emotion. "I'm a filthy 'faggot'." His hands spread outwards, taking everything in with that action. "I doubt you want to know that since I met you... I've wanted nothing more than to kiss you senseless and tell you... that you are the most beautiful man I have ever seen." Closing his eyes against the rejection he knew would come, he swallowed hard and continued. "I've never met anyone like you... caring, brave and so wonderful I can't help but want to be near you. I _want_ you, _need_ you..."

"It must disgust you to know..." He swallowed hard around the lump forming in this throat. "I want to touch you... know what its like to..." A shudder ran through him of the thought of this man claiming him in the most intimate sense of the word. "I learned the hard way that what I want is unacceptable.

Suddenly hands cupped Yuuri's face, stilling the words that spilled out of him. Warm thumbs stroked softly against his cheeks, their foreheads touching lightly together in the most intimate of gestures. "I've wanted you just as much."

A sound of relief slipped free from the King, his entire body vibrating with the force of his swirling emotions. "My Prince."

Conrart immediately drew Yuuri Shibuya into his arms, wrapping him up in a protective embrace and buried his face against the waves of raven silk. They fit together as if they had been made like that. He felt arms slip around his waist tentatively at first before fingers fisted into the back of his jacket, Yuuri letting out a relieve sob.

"Don't let me go." Yuuri whispered desperately, needing Conrart, needing those strong arms holding him. "Please... don't ever let me go."

"I..." Conrart swallowed hard, knowing he was not at all good enough for the man in his arms, he was a common blooded half-breed, but he wanted to be. "I promise I never will."

"My Prince... my Conrart."

And dampness soaked into Conrart's jacket as years of pain finally poured out of him as he was cradled by a man who did care about him.

* * *

><p>Brilliant sunshine speared through the upper towers of the castle and spilled across the duelling grounds, warming the gravel and the members of the castle's inhabitants that had come to observe the duel between Wolfram and Yuuri. Conrart sat beside his mother, having been privately shocked when one of the servants had set out the chair beside Cecilie's in respect to Conrart's new position as fiancé to the King. His gaze however remained on Yuuri, a tiny part of him worried, though he knew Yuuri's skill was above that of Wolfram.<p>

Cecilie offered her son a small smile. "You look well this morning, Conrart."

"I am fine, Mother." His cinnamon eyes however remained fixed on the man who had said things to him last night that no one ever had before.

"We have gathered here this morning as the appointed time has come and we are now ready to commence a duel between Lord Wolfram Von Bielefeld and his Majesty, King Yuuri. The type of weapon will be chosen by the King since he is the one who accepted the duel." Gunter looked deeply troubled, dark rings circling his eyes and he looked like he hadn't gotten much rest at all.

"Wolfram, your Majesty! Give it everything you've got boys!" The former Demon Queen waved from where she sat, her expression showing no hint of concern over what was about to take place.

"I will, I've been picturing you begging like a dog for my forgiveness after I defeat you. The mere thought of it has made the wait pleasurable."

Yuuri flashed both Gunter and then his handsome Conrart a big grin, obsidian eyes glinting like polished jewels in the sunshine.

Wolfram drew his blade, the metal glinting in the sunlight, the green eyes of the noble Demon Tribesman showing that he had no idea exactly who or what he was going up against. A smirk tugged at the corners of those pretty lips.

Yuuri however had several advantages in this particular duel, out-massing the other man by several kilograms meaning that he could use his strength this time to engage his opponent. A hand dropped down to the hilt of the sword that now was properly buckled at his waist, the weight of it oddly comforting to him.

Wolfram charged Yuuri, the taller man meeting the blonde boy with a simple parry, not attempting to attack quite yet as he tested exactly what Wolfram's skills were, learning the rhythm of the other fighter.

"What's wrong, you suddenly look paralysed by fear..." Wolfram taunted, clearly taking Yuuri's blocking moves as being nothing more than a way to protect himself.

"Conrart, if we don't do something..." Gunter shifted uncomfortably beside Conrart's chair, his eyes fixed on the duel, not quite studying what was happening because of his concern.

"Not yet. Look at his movements, Gunter." Conrart felt a spark of pride fill his chest the moment he saw Yuuri's next blow whip across Wolfram's blade with ease and practically fling the boy back several feet with the force and skill of the movement. "Yuuri is a fencer."

And Yuuri practically stalked Wolfram across the duelling grounds, his movements lightning quick and striking at every one of Wolfram's weaknesses. "You follow the same rhythm." Yuuri drove hard again, almost spinning Wolfram around with the power of his next strike. "I can predict your every move." And he met each well and then added in his own that set the other man's rhythm off-balance.

One final blow knocked the sword out of Wolfram's hands, sending it skittering away from the blonde Demon. Yuuri barely even breathing hard while Wolfram was panting softly, cheeks flushed with heat from the fight. "You're good, Wolfram Von Bielefeld, but not good enough." Shifting back onto his feet, their gazes locked for one hard moment, Wolfram glancing away first. "Let this battle end before anyone is hurt."

"I haven't lost this battle yet!" Wolfram snarled, hand lifting a flare of flame uncoiled within his palm, unfurling itself as it suddenly and abruptly flashed towards Yuuri.

The magical attack had caught him by surprise, but he was grateful that just dodging and slashing at the tiny hot fireballs extinguished them. He had never before fought with his magic, which was a wild vibrant thing in his chest, the fact that he was on Demon Tribe grounds making the force of it grow.

"Stop this, Wolfram!" Gunter cried. "His Majesty has yet to make a pact with the elements."

"They should answer him without such a thing." Gwendal responded, wanting to see the true power that burned through the veins of their new Demon King. "Its a good chance to finally discover the truth about this supposed King."

"Wolfram." Yuuri was standing his ground, jaw clenching hard. "Do not force me into this, my magic is unstable. You do not know what..."

"Let's see you dodge this!"

A lion born of the deep hells of the earth slowly uncoiled above Wolfram, its jaws gaping as it roared out a challenge to the heavens. It charged straight for him.

Power answered Yuuri's call, the rippling animal born of flame split into two, sweeping past the King with a hiss of air, the magic being guided by instinct. It was too much... Yuuri's magic flared and danced across his skin...

This time the inferno didn't disintegrate, but continued to build fed by Wolfram's spell and anger. The fireballs streaked through the air, heading one beyond him towards the castle and the other towards... _Conrart_.

A howl escaped from Yuuri, his body spinning and both hands stretched out, magic uncoiling and shimmering shields of power spread before the castle and those observing the battle. The fireballs exploded on impact, spewing up smoke and stinging embers into the air. A feminine scream filled the air and was abruptly cut off. Smoke and hissing steam misted the air, making it impossible to see... until he heard the shouts of the guards, running boots. Conrart lay crumpled on the ground having been flung by the impact of fire against the water shield... his chair overturned and splintered as was Cecilie's beside him. Cecilie lay beneath Conrart, her head protected against his chest, his arms curled around her, clearly Conrart had used himself to shield his mother from the worst of the unexpected blast. The sight of his prince sprawled across the ground limp and curled about his mother and the young maid covered in soot surround by guards set alight the powder-keg of magic within Yuuri Shibuya.

There had been no time to react, for the people to get out of the way... the ground was scorched, charred black by the attack.

The wind wailed as it suddenly battered against the window and walls of the castle as clouds rapidly darkened and thickened, blotting out the sun as ice cold rain speared the ground, pounding down over them. "Is this how you settle matters? Involving a poor innocent girl and those who should be special to you?" Thunder and lightning tore across the heavens, the sunlight obliterated by the storm that had been summoned by Yuuri's flaring magic. "You dare to harm what is mine?"

Wolfram flinched back from those words, knowing in that one split second that he had just crossed a line that should never have been crossed.

"Not only did you refuse to accept your defeat, you committed a reckless act, ignoring the rules of combat. And now innocents have paid for your pride and arrogance." His voice was a low rumble, hair whipping around his face as magic seethed just under his skin, flowing out of his pores and into the air around him, a shimmering blue aura which was growing in intensity. "And still you desire victory, you _coward_."

Palms swept outwards and the entire castle trembled on its foundations in response to the Maou's towering rage.

"Wait a minute..." Wolfram was pale and trembling as his eyes turned towards where Gwendal was carefully helping his mother up to her feet. Though rattled, Cecilie was uninjured, but Conrart still lay sprawled on the damp ground, silky hair falling across his still face.

"I never intended for this to end in bloodshed, but I have no choice."

Rain droplets stilled in midair, hovering for one odd moment, before coalescing into several water serpents, their jaws gaping and nerve-rattling sounds escaped their mouths. They were chasing after Wolfram, coiling around the boy's body, lifting him clear off the earth and twisting slowly tighter, restricting Wolfram's movements.

"Let go of me, please!" Wolfram struggled hard against the powerful overwhelming magic, everyone in the castle knowing in that one moment that Yuuri Shibuya was the Demon King and that he was not a man to ever be crossed. He dangled fifteen feet in the air, the razor sharp fangs of the conjured beasts grazing against his exposed throat.

"Why should you deserve mercy when you show none? Why do you deserve understanding and forgiveness when you prosecute a man who loves you! You sneer in distain on all that is before you... You trample everything beautiful because of your greed and selfishness. The only reason why I do not condemn you now is because of the brother you discard like trash, remember that in the future. I will not tolerate those who are bigots in my presence."

And Wolfram dropped like a stone to the ground as Yuuri turned away from him, the backwash of magic slamming into him like a tide as he staggered towards Conrart.

The man had roused himself, his cinnamon eyes widening at the sight of Yuuri, seeing exactly what he was.

Yuuri staggered, his hand reaching out towards Conrart, desperate that he accept this monstrous part of himself. Every nerve and muscle he had screamed... his fingers grasping air...

A strong calloused hand closed around Yuuri's, pulling him down and into the arms of the half-blood soldier, his body being gathered close against him. "Its alright..." Conrart breathed, feeling Yuuri tremble once before slowly collapsing against his body, a whisper of the half-blood's name the only sound that escaped his lips. "I have you."

* * *

><p><strong>XD now for part three and a bit of a change in the flow of the chapter. <strong>


	3. Part 3: Loyalties

**Author's Note: Some of this chapter adds in a little part that I always wished I could have seen in the anime, or at least dreamed about. I have to admit this was one of the hardest chapters I've ever had to write, but I thank a very good friend of mine for all her efforts in helping me sort out of plot for this and give me a way of working it so that it did match up a bit more to the anime as I intend for this story to do. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but the bath tub... **

**Dedicated to KitElizaKing for all her assistance on this story. **

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"So can you tell me exactly what is expected of me when it comes to my fiancé?" Yuuri sat at a table in the library several books open before him as he glanced towards Gunter Von Christ whom had been hovering over him all morning. Bed had definitely not been on the agenda when it came to Yuuri, he didn't have the patience to remain still for as long as Gunter had urged him to. The Aide had finally given in when he had suggested that he familiarise himself with the history of his country.

The problem was it seemed that Yuuri could easily speak the language... but reading it was a whole new barrel of fish. However, his palm spread over the pages of one of the books he had found hidden on one of the shelves in the back of the large space. His fingertips stroked over the raised symbols and ran along it slowly.

"The History of the Kingdoms of Small and Big Cimaron." Yuuri said softly, still gazing at Gunter's back as the Aide searched for something that Yuuri might have a chance at reading.

"Sire?" Gunter turned at the sound of Yuuri's voice and stopped when his gaze dropped down to regard the book resting under Yuuri's right hand.

"The original..." Yuuri blinked, his head tipping down blinking at the pristine white of the page and where his fingers had stopped on top of the raised areas that ran across the page. Now that was odd. Both raven brows lifted while he studied the markings, not being able to understand them until his fingers again slid across them, the words coming quickly to his mind. "Gunter...?"

"It seems..." The lavender haired Demon regarded the book for one long moment before considering. "You can read, Sire, I just was not aware that it was through touch script."

"I didn't know either." Yuuri shrugged slightly, piling that particular mystery into the back of his mind, tucking it away where he could privately examine all the weird stuff that happened to him. "However... back to the question."

Gunter paused, before returning to the table beside him, setting down the book he had been carrying. "There are certain... privileges the fiancé of the Demon King is granted. He is free to enter into any place that you are welcomed, he is accorded the same social standing and regard as the Maou and may act in your stead if required. Also it is permissible for relations to occur between the intendeds. There are several other social things..."

"You mean... I have the right to have him..." Yuuri flushed ever so slightly, still uncomfortable about asking such things when so many people had rebuked him for his homosexuality. "In my bed?"

"It is encouraged, Sire. A happy king is a happy kingdom."

Now that truly made him smile, his fingers pausing where they had been reading over the book beside him, regarding Gunter for one long moment. "May I make two requests of you, Gunter?"

"Of course, Sire! I am here to assist you."

"One, I think it would be advisable for me to learn to read properly, but for now if you have access to any books like this one." His finger tapped against the open page beneath his palm. "I would appreciate having a chance to read through them. Secondly..." Chin tipping upwards to gaze into lavender eyes. "How good are you at arranging parties? I want to celebrate my engagement to Lord Weller. It would be a good chance for me to get acquainted with more customs and individuals of note."

"I am delighted by how much you wish to be apart of this world, Sire." Gunter bowed his head slightly, eyes reflecting his relief and gratitude that Yuuri was someone who was hands on and active about seeing to the needs of his people. "Your coronation can be planned for a few days before the engagement celebrations. I will see to the arrangements at once."

"Do you think it would be alright if I spent a little time on my own, Gunter?" Yuuri was slowly rising to his feet, tucking the book about Cimaron history beneath one arm and glancing out at the window and the world beyond. "I promise I will not leave the castle grounds and I will not strain myself... I pray Gwendal will have a little more patience with me... I will see to my other duties tomorrow..."

"I will speak to Gwendal about this all. Go, enjoy your afternoon, Sire."

"I wish you a good afternoon too, Gunter, thankyou for your indulging me this trip to the library. I don't make a very good patient."

* * *

><p>"You know..." Yuuri wrapped both arms around Conrart's waist and leaned against the soldier's back, his lips brushing the sensitive skin just beneath his earlobe. "I knew you were there..." Soft kisses tickled against Conrart's neck, the King nuzzling his face warmly against that tawny skin. The scent of the man was intoxicating, leather, wool and something spicy. "While I was unconscious, I could feel your fingers curled around mine."<p>

"Yuuri..." Conrart shuddered slightly, body responding to the soft caress of those hands against his stomach and one thigh. No one had ever done this before... never touching him as if he was all they desired.

"I spent the morning with Gunter, waiting for you to find me." Nipping at that enticing earlobe, he pressed himself just a little closer, before settling back onto his heels, his cheek pressed against the back of one shoulder blade. "I missed you."

"I... was attending to my duties... with the troops..." In reality however, Conrart admitted to himself deep in his heart that he was afraid, afraid that when Yuuri awakened the dream that they had been sharing would burst apart and shatter his desperate hope of truly being what Yuuri Shibuya wanted. There had been duties for him to attend to but still... his heart had screamed for him to find Yuuri...

"Have lunch with me." Lips tickling against Conrart's nape, the silky short hairs teased his mouth and made him smile. "I want to know about your morning."

"Certainly." He couldn't resist a soft request like that, his entire body responding to the not so innocent touches, reminding him of thoughts that had been plaguing him since he had seen the bare skin of his King. "How are you feeling?" Turning around slowly, one arm slowly wrapped itself around Yuuri's waist, slowly drawing the man in against his body again.

"Still tired, but grateful that I didn't miss more than a day. I still wonder how I can be tired after sleeping so long." A wry smile tugged at his lips after a moment, but he soon laced his fingers through Conrart's and drew him along, heading towards the kitchens. "I am not an idle person by nature."

"Apparently." Conrart couldn't help but smile.

* * *

><p>"Good evening, Sire." Conrart stood at the doorway, his cinnamon eyes gazing into the King's chambers and swallowed hard as he took in the half dressed state of the man before him. Long lean muscles were cast into shadow by the few candles still lit nearby, obsidian eyes turning towards him with silent interest. "You requested my presence."<p>

"My Prince." Yuuri grinned at his fiancé with a keen interest, fingers waving slightly at the man and inviting him to come into the room. "I have a surprise for you."

"Yuuri?" Glancing back along the corridor, he stepped forwards into the room, hesitating only a second before shutting the door behind himself. Being asked to enter the King's room while he was relaxing in it was a great honour, the trust involved... His eyes flickered around the space and was startled at the sight of an old fashioned metal tub sitting before the warm fire, steam rising off the sweetly scented water.

"Come here." Yuuri breathed, standing beside the tub, his head tipping back slightly to gaze into his lover's brilliant cinnamon eyes. He had already attended to his own bath after dinner and had questioned the grey-eyed guard, Samuel, about Conrart's nightly rounds so that he could plan this to not interfere with something that appeared to be very important to his fiancé.

Conrart stopped in front of Yuuri, not quite working out exactly what was going on, it was clear his King had already bathed, a loose fitting pair of pants riding low on those trim hips. The reason for the bath mystified him until... slender fingered hands dropped to his belt, carefully beginning to slip the leather free from the metal buckles. The weight of his sword suddenly dropped from his hips, the belt and sheathed blade being placed on a nearby table.

"Yuuri?"

A finger pressed against Conrart's lips, silencing his words before they could come. "If you are uncomfortable with this, I will stop." Hands touched the top button of Conrart's jacket, prepared to slide the brass button through its hole.

"You... are the King... this is..." Conrart was actually stumbling over his words, his hands lifting, wanting to reach out towards the other man but hesitated, still trying to work out the boundaries of what was between them.

"I want to do this. I want to see you relax and sometimes just take care of you." The buttons were slowly undone and the thick woollen fabric freed from his arms, it was nearly folded and set beside his sword. Shirt and belt quickly followed.

Hands lifted to carefully trace along every scar, every mark that ran across Conrart's chest, learning every inch of his skin and drawing a soft muffled groan from his throat. A mouth lightly touched just over Conrart's heart, lips lingering there to feel the rapid thunder of his pulse. Tiny butterfly kisses fluttered down over Conrart's sternum and over his belly button to just above his belt. Dropping to his knees, Yuuri helped to free the heavy leather boots and woollen socks.

It was erotic. The slow undressing of his body by those warm hands, feeling the tiny kisses linger over his skin. Eyes closing, he didn't even realise his pants were pooling around his ankles leaving him in nothing but his own skin. His body throbbed almost painfully, showing that every touch had hardened his body just a little more.

"Lovely." Yuuri sighed in appreciation of the masculine grace of Conrart's toned body, though his eyes lingered on the part of his fiancé which clearly answered the question of whether Conrart found him attractive. "You are truly a treat for the senses, my Prince."

As much as he wanted to reach out and grasp that twitching length, he didn't want to push too hard quite yet, the last thing he wanted was to drive away the one man who accepted everything about him. He had a feeling that Conrart was just as wary as himself about what they now were beginning to share. A lifetime of distain from all those around him... the snarled words if Conrart so much as touched someone was not something that could be overcome in a single night like his own awkwardness when it came to showing things in public towards others.

"The water is still nice and hot." One hand lightly touched against the small of Conrart's back, nudging him forwards gently.

Conrart stepped into the hot water, letting out a soft groan as his body slowly sank downwards, legs unfolding a little as he settled. Back resting against the raised side, he felt fingers sliding through his hair, thumbs rubbing against his temples in a gentle stroke. Herbal fragrances wafted up from the water, ones that relaxed every muscle he owned an soothed any aches he had acquired during the day. "This is... Thankyou..." Cinnamon eyes fluttered closed while he soaked.

A sponge was soon sliding over his skin, running softly over shoulders and one arm, a tiny kiss being pressed against his palm lightly. Pleasure filled eyes, dark and hungry drifted open a crack to watch the man beside the tub. It was a thrill to experience this, to be the centre of Yuuri Shibuya's attention, to know that all this effort had been done to see him relaxed and contented.

"I'm just glad to have you here with me."

Settling himself behind Conrart, he was slowly rubbing the sponge across the broad expanse of the man's chest, teasing a nipple lightly. Head dipping down, his mouth skimmed up the side of Conrart's neck from his shoulder, teeth nipping lightly at his skin Tongue sliding over it, tasting a touch of salt clinging to the tawny expanse. Yuuri took his time, cleaning long powerful limbs and across the broad back.

Conrart didn't even realise he had half drifted into sleep until the sweetest of kisses was pressed against his mouth, a hand cupping the back of his head. Lips parted, tongues tangling erotically, their bodies shuddering with the force of what was moving through them both. One hand lifted up to caress against a pale cheek, feeling the long black strands slide across the back of his palm.

"Stay here tonight." Yuuri coaxed softly, the tips of their noses rubbing.

"If you like." Conrart was barely aware of anything other than that sweet mouth and the hands that helped him up from the now lukewarm water of the tub. A towel stroked quickly over his skin, drying him off before fingers curled around the soldier's and tugged softly. He came with no protest, the bath having worked its magic over him just as much as those hands had.

Soft linens were soon against his back, his body sinking into the softness and he smiled sleepily when a warm frame pressed up against his side, an arm sliding over his stomach and pressed lightly against one hip. Blankets covered them both after a moment, sealing in the warmth. Conrart's arms reached out and curled around his companion, embracing him and drawing the man closer to him. Sleep came quickly and easily to Conrart, even though he was still half hard, he didn't mind, not when after so many years... so many nightmares he was finally warm again.

"I'll guard your dreams." Yuuri whispered tenderly, throwing one leg over Conrart's thighs, his face pressing against the hollow of the man's throat, letting out his own contented sigh. This was definitely what he belonged, wrapped up in Conrart's embrace.

* * *

><p>There was a sudden fierce knocking at the door, a muffled voice coming through the wood. "Sire?"<p>

Yuuri groaned softly, but roused himself quickly, his body shifting within the circle of Conrart's arms. It took a moment for him to slip out of them, though he felt a large palm slide down along his spine in an intimate little caress as Conrart's cinnamon eyes blinked a little. Moving towards the door, he heard Conrart sitting up behind him in the bed, the sheets and blankets pooling around his waist.

Opening the door, he gazed down into the grey eyes of Samuel. "What is it?"

"An attack, Sire, on a village near the border. Lord Von Voltaire is preparing to ride out and has sent someone to summon Lord Weller." Samuel hesitated as he gazed into the obsidian eyes of his King. "He gave orders saying you were not to be disturbed... but I..."

Yuuri reached out a hand to squeeze the man's shoulder, offering him a warm encouraging smile. "You did well, Samuel. Thankyou for coming to tell me. Have my horse and that of Lord Weller prepared quickly, we will be ready to ride within a quarter hour, do not tell Lord Von Voltaire."

"As you command, Sire." Bowing his head, the guard was vanishing quickly back into the corridor and the door shut with a soft click.

"Yuuri...?" Conrart's sleepy voice came from the sleep rumpled man on the bed, his chocolate locks sweeping down over his face and the sheets were sliding a little more revealing one tantalising thigh.

Standing beside the bed, he reached out one hand to curl it into the short strands of hair at the nape of his lover's neck, drawing him into a burning hot kiss of greeting. His lips brushed tenderly against that stubbled jaw, rubbing cheeks and whispering the man's name lovingly. "You need to get up, my Prince."

Conrart blinked for a moment, the sleep finally clearing from his face as cinnamon eyes focused on Yuuri's troubled expression.

"A village was apparently attacked, we were just given word. Our horses are being prepared as we speak."

Immediately sliding off the bed, he was moving across the space and already slightly on his clothes, startled by how much he liked the feeling of not waking up alone, of being greeted by those soft touches as he finally rose out of a deep peaceful sleep. He didn't even notice his nakedness, feeling surprisingly comfortable now in his own skin in front of Yuuri. "I know asking you to stay here would probably be pointless."

"Very pointless." Yuuri agreed as he was tugging on his boots, lifting his own sword from where it rested and buckling the sword belt into place. "I am going. This is my kingdom and those are my people and I'm not just about to sit back and watch them suffer when there might be something I can do to help."

Conrart and Yuuri shared a meaningful look, both of them deeply aware of what was between them and that neither would stand in the way of the other in situations like this.

"We are in this together, my Prince."

* * *

><p><strong>Near The Border Village Of Vellandenberg, The Great Demon Kingdom <strong>

Hooves pounded against hard-packed earth, leather harnesses and straps creaking softly as the animals strained, running full out along the sunshine lit road. They had been on horseback for hours, continuing to plunge headlong after Gwendal's forces which had left within them. A full squad of soldiers including Samuel were riding with them, all of them from Conrart's personal forces which Yuuri had practically adopted as his own.

"Hopefully Gwendal won't get it into his head to do anything rash." As much as Yuuri admitted he respected Gwendal's work and just what the man had taken on since the war twenty years before, but Gwendal had to respect the fact that Yuuri wasn't some visitor or someone who would get up and leave at the drop of a hat. He was here to stay until the people no longer had need of him, but this was his world, his life and he didn't want to miss it.

"I'm sure he will not do anything to worrisome."

"Are we talking about the same man?" Yuuri couldn't help but smile and shake his head a little, already knowing exactly what kind of expression the eldest of Cecilie's sons would be wearing when he realised that Yuuri had accompanied Conrart.

Conrart sighed, knowing that Yuuri's vision for the Great Demon Kingdom was not something Gwendal might take easily to, yet in his own heart he wanted that. He wanted the peace that Yuuri could bring. He wanted a world where people like him would no longer be considered inferior to those with pure blood. "You are... probably right, but..."

Yuuri suddenly drew his horse to a stop, their conversation interrupted as they all gaze down across the open valley where the human village burned fiercely. A plume of inky black smoke coiled upwards from it, embers fluttering in the long trail. He could almost hear the screams, his fingers clenched around the reins, eyes scanning over the horror of such a scene.

"This isn't good at all, should have arrived, yet it appears its still in chaos." A flicker of concern darkened Conrart's eyes, his jaw clenching slightly at the fact that it was a village he frequently visited. It was a place where he felt comfortable and maybe a little more at home because the humans didn't judge him so harshly because of his mixed-blood. "Something must be wrong..."

"Well now... isn't this interesting." Adalbert's intense blue eyes flickered with something akin to amusement as they skimmed over both Yuuri, Conrart and the other soldiers, several of whom were entangled in some kind of containment field that shimmered and flickered in the air like a web. "I didn't think you would allow your little King out of the castle once you got him there. I highly doubt Von Christ or Von Voltaire will be impressed either."

Yuuri's eyes narrowed on the man who had so troubled him before, though his mood lightened just a touch when he noticed Adalbert Von Grantz actually still bore the large though faded bruise across one side of his jaw where Yuuri had slugged him hard.

"How do you know them?" Yuuri couldn't help but ask softly, brows coming together as he gazed down at Adalbert, his horse shifting uncomfortably. Though Yuuri was already stretching out with his magic, examining the barrier that held half of the troops in place, tugging at the tightly woven strings that coiled around them. He could feel another of the soldiers doing the same, speeding up the process. "Are you a member of the Demon Tribe?"

Anger burned in Conrart's eyes as he gazed at Adalbert, his hand already curling around the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it and defend his King when Yuuri's hand lightly touched the top of his own, stilling him.

They needed more information, it was clearly no coincidence that Adalbert just happened to be this close to the burning village.

"Actually I use to be, but I learned long ago just how much I could hate them. I despise the Demon Tribe and that is why I've come to rescue you." Adalbert's horse shifted closer, though his eyes were fixed on Conrart's face for a moment, clearly knowing that it would take something more than brute force to do exactly as he wished. "After all you were yanked from the world that you knew and forced here to become the Demon King. The Demon King is the enemy of the human race."

Yuuri's obsidian eyes widened slightly at that, his heart throbbing once within his chest and he shook his head slightly. It would never be like that, he would do everything he could to mend that rift between the two sides that had been at each other's throats no more than twenty years before. The hatred and the fighting had to end or it would destroy them all.

"Don't you think its immoral that they are turning you into a monster, a traitor to your own kind? The Demon Tribe needed a scapegoat, someone to take the blame for all of their misdeeds. You know that you are human, the containment spell didn't work on you. Makes sense doesn't it?"

And at that, Yuuri Shibuya laughed. His obsidian eyes sparking ever so sightly with magic, his expression showing that he didn't believe any of the lies that Adalbert was attempting to feed him. "Trust me, they wouldn't go to all the effort they faced to bring me here only for me to be some useless figurehead. I'm not human. I never have been." There had always been magic within him, though mostly silenced on Earth it had always been a quiet presence humming softly within his body. "What did you do, Adalbert?"

"A little inciting."

"Yuuri..." Conrart was trembling with the force of his desire to protect his King from the monster that lurked before them in the guise of a man.

"A human village was struck by famine, they were on the long so road to starvation and death. I only pointed them in the right direction to find some much needed food. They came to collect."

"Humans attacked humans."

"They cannot be considered human when they ally themselves with Demon Tribe."

Yuuri's heart ached at that those words, his eyes closing against the sudden understandings that he had about the world that he now lived in. "We have to stop Gwendal, the raiders..." Were starving people desperately trying to find food to feed their wives and children. What must they have suffered? What guilt must some feel knowing they had no other choices but to steal what they needed just to survive?

"For all your hatred, Adalbert." Yuuri's obsidian eyes met the cold blue of Adalbert Von Grantz's. "You aren't a monster or a traitor." His head bowed slightly, considering all that he had heard from this man. "You care about the villagers. You care what happens to them and their families. You are just going about it the wrong way."

Shock registered on the blonde's face, his hands tightening around the reins of his horse.

"Go now, Adalbert, we will not pursue you. However, the next time we meet, let it be under better circumstances than this. I know you are better than this."

"You _brat_." Adalbert's sword cleared his scabbard and he urged the horse forwards, unnerved by the insight this black haired man had into some part of himself that even he didn't want to glance into.

Conrart was immediately drawing his sword, blade glinting in the light as he urged his horse forwards with just his knees. "Retreat now, Adalbert. Do not make his Majesty's mercy a mistake."

The guards around them were surging forwards in response to Conrart's show of aggression, those who had previously been frozen within the grip of the magical containment spell were also drawing their own swords.

"I will see you sometime soon your Majesty. I think you need to be taught the true facts of just what you are getting yourself into. I'm sure there are things that they haven't told you."

* * *

><p><strong>The Border Village Of Vellandenberg, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

There was a distant rumble of thunder as banks of inky black storm clouds began to move in from the south, building up slowly, cloud by cloud to fill the sky. Light raindrops splashed against their faces, gradually getting heavier as magic began to saturate the air. Yuuri trembled slightly with the strain, his chest rising and falling quickly, still worn down by the earlier exertions when he had confronted Wolfram no more than two days before.

Sounds of fighting filled their ears, the sharp rapport of steel against steel, the twang of bows releasing their bolts.

"Protect the villagers." Yuuri whispered softly, his dark hair damp and clinging to his face, his body shifting in the saddle of his horse, swaying just once, before managing to push himself away from the strength of his fiancé whom sat behind him on his mount.

"Yuuri..." Conrart dipped his head, turning that chin towards him with one finger and their mouths met in one soft affectionate kiss. "I..."

"Please. They need you more than I at this moment, my Prince." It wasn't true, it would never be true, but it was the way life turned when it came to Yuuri. He would always need his Conrart. Managing to sit up properly on the back of the horse, he gripped the reins, as Conrart slipped from the back of the mount. "I will head for the encampment." As much as he wished he could join in the fighting, it was an effort just to keep the storm building overhead.

"Stay with him. Guard him with your lives, or you will answer to me for your failure." Conrart ordered four of his best troops, gesturing for them to move in and surround Yuuri again. "I will come to you as soon as I have done all I can for these villagers. Stay safe." One hand brushed against Yuuri's calf, rubbing once and squeezing it before he was drawing his sword and calling for the rest of the troops to head into the village.

A hand curled around the edges of the bridle, guiding the horse forwards, away from the smouldering houses that hissed and crackled as water soaked the wood and other combustibles. Samuel offered Yuuri a warm smile. "Lord Weller is the best there is, he'll be fine, Sire."

"I wish I could do more." Yuuri whispered softly in response, admitting to himself that he was grateful for the familiar face of the troops around him, ones he had shared a meal with no more than a few days before. His head twisted, hearing the distant sound of Conrart's voice and seeing him leading the troops, rallying the Demon Tribe and village forces and pushing back the bandits and raiders. He was a sight to see, powerful and commanding, the vision of him made Yuuri's heart ache with longing.

"You already are, Sire, the fires are already half out because of the rain."

All he could do was nod.

He wasn't quite aware when they reached the encampment, the sounds of voices and relieved murmurs filling the air from the villagers as the rain continued to pour down, soaking everyone, but no one cared. The dark column of smoke had lightened to a steam laden grey, the distant crackle silenced to a steady hiss of sound.

"Sire?" A hand lightly touched his own, attempting to draw his attention, but his chin had fallen forwards against his chest. Yuuri swayed in the saddle and slipped sideways into the waiting arms of one of the larger guards who easily lifted the weight of the King upwards with ease. "Rest easy now, Sire."

His vision blurred as he was carried, his awareness fading in and out until he was soon being brought into the warmth and dryness of a tent. Something soft soon resting underneath his back.

"Lady Gisela!"

There were sounds... voices... indistinct as he finally succumbed to darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Demon Tribe Encampment, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Blinking slightly, his eyes opened as he stirred, already pushing himself upwards and swinging his legs off the bed, before one of the guards could press him back down into the softness of it. How long had it been since he had passed out? He couldn't quite tell, but he glanced around at the people surrounding him and his heart squeezed tightly at the sight of injured children and women... How could anyone do something like this? It left a bitter ache in his heart, but he understood the desperation some of attackers might have felt knowing that they would starve to death without food.

"Sire?" Samuel was already at his side, grey eyes flickering over his face and offering him out a hand to help him to his feet. "The fires are out, Sire, the attackers have nearly been driven completely out."

"Good." He breathed softly, before he was moving forwards away from the bed and towards the white uniformed physician who was quickly moving from patient to patient.

"I'll be done soon, please bear with me. Please stop moving around."

Yuuri stepped towards Gisela where she was tending to a blonde human man, her nimble fingers quickly winding a bandage around his leg. The man's grunts and cries of pain just seemed to make the physician even more apologetic as she worked.

"There you go."

Finally coming to a stop beside Gisela, he glanced around, needing to know about the people from the village and also about any surviving bandits before he attempted to head outside and find out exactly what he had missed being laid out like that by his own weakness.

"Excuse me." He murmured softly, his expression showing his concern, but also the paleness showing his fatigue. Yuuri had a feeling that the moment he got back to the Castle, Gunter wouldn't let him out of bed for a week. So much for proving himself to be a capable king, at least the fires were almost out.

The woman turned, her green eyes widening in surprise as Gisela gazed back at him, before her gaze flickered to the recently vacated bed and the child that was now filling it.

"Is there anything I can do here? How are the patients?"

"Help here?" She looked almost flustered by the question, but swallowed a little and glanced back towards the human she had been treating a few moments before. "Oh my... Why no your Majesty, do not feel you need to concern yourself with the wounded. I can manage on my own."

"Gisela."

Her mouth formed a perfect little 'O' that he had remembered and recalled her name. "I am so pleased you remember my name, Sire. I..."

"Let me at least help you a little here, I would like to hear a report on the casualties and wounded. I'll arrange for transport if that is needed." He gestured a hand towards one of the guards that had followed him over, the soldier dipping his head slightly willing to carry any message for their King.

"You should be resting, Sire..."

"I can't sit still if my life depended on it." Amusement tugged at his lips, his expression showing his concern. Before he was picking up a bottle of antiseptic and a gauze pad. "Especially not when people are hurt and I am only tired."

"Don't you dare come near me! Leave me alone, I don't need any help from a devil like you." The human spat the words out, eyes burning with acid and hatred. "You are of the Demon Tribe, my sworn enemy."

"I wish only to prevent you from getting an infection."

"Liar! Lying foul beast!"

"How many children do you have?"

"What...?" The human blinked sharply at the question, his lips peeling back into a snarl. "I would never tell you."

"You're worried about them." Like Yuuri was worried about Conrart, desperate to ask about the welfare of the man he cared about so much, but not wanting to make unreasonable demands of those around him. Conrart wasn't with him... but that didn't mean he didn't want to be. "I heard about the famine in your village, I'll arrange for supplies to be sent, but you have to understand... what you have done here, is something that cannot be forgiven so easily. We would have given you aid if only you had asked."

Gisela's mouth opened at those words, her green eyes full of quiet gratitude as she gazed at their King, knowing in that one moment that every promise King Yuuri Shibuya had made would be kept.

"I do not overlook the suffering of others and I will not overlook yours."

"We do not want...!"

"Do not say the words when the people of your village might not agree with you. It is aid, freely given. I will not let children starve because of selfish pride of their parents."

* * *

><p>"Conrart!"<p>

The soldier barely had time to open his arms before a dark haired blur abruptly thumped into him, limbs wrapping around his shoulders and he found himself being kissed with an intensity that still had the strength to shock him. Carefully sliding his arms around the slender waist of the man who had almost knocked him off his feet, he hugged him close for a long moment.

"You should be resting." His fingertips smoothed back the raven locks, carefully pushing them back away from that slightly flushed face of his King. "How are you feeling?"

"As if I've been broadsided by a semi... but not too out of it to help." Yuuri's hands however didn't remain perched on Conrart's shoulder, but slowly slipped down over the length of his back and then down to his hips. They made a brief flutter along his sides before settling back after being quite assured Conrart had returned to him all in one piece. "How is the village? How are you? How are the troops?"

"Yuuri."

The younger man flashed his fiancé a wide grin. "I know, I know... too many questions all at once..."

"This man just confessed that Adalbert did indeed instigate their actions." Confirming exactly what they had learned earlier from the horse's mouth. Gwendal was aside his stallion, his navy gaze narrowed on Yuuri, clearly attempting to work out whether to be pleased or irritated by the presence of their King. On one hand he had put out the fires and brought Conrart with him, on the other he had ended up collapsing in front of the humans and been out of commission for hours. "He also told us there was a fire wizard amongst the soldiers that is why the fire was so intense."

"Just as I suspected." Conrart shifted, his arm settling around Yuuri's waist, keeping the man protectively against his side, wishing he had been able to remain with the man instead of sending him away into the protection of his guards. "We are fortunate Yuuri was with us for the damage might have been worse."

The older Demon grunted his reluctant agreement and acknowledgement of Yuuri's efforts, before he was turning back towards the individuals that had stopped beside his horse. "Move it." Gwendal said as he glanced behind him towards the human that was trapped and cuffed between two burly members of Gwendal's personal forces.

The human was forced forwards, stumbling and fighting against the grip of his attackers.

"Walk faster!" One of the guards hissed, shoving the man.

"This is the scoundrel who set fire to your village. Go ahead and kill him or do whatever you want to him."

Now that had Yuuri's head snapping up, fingers clenching at the order of a man he had thought was better than this. "_No_."

Gwendal's jaw clenched at the single word that held authority in this particular situation. His hand gesturing for the guards to continue.

"Do not defy my orders, Lord Gwendal Von Voltaire." Yuuri stepped away from Conrart, still a touch unsteady on his feet, but he looked every inch the King he was in that one moment. "I will not permit for this man to be slaughtered in a meaningless display of brutality."

"You don't..."

"I trust in your judgement, Lord Von Voltaire and I will forgive you for not informing me of this situation regarding my Kingdom's security because of the newness of my arrival and position." Yuuri would not give on this, he might understand the need for the imprisonment of those who had harmed others or death when it came to combat, but the slaughter of an unarmed man was not tolerable. "The slaughter of unarmed civilians will not be tolerated. I am not a monster."

"Shut your mouth, you Foreigner! Don't stick your nose into..."

Conrart Weller's sword was sliding free of its scabbard, cinnamon eyes burning into those of his elder brother's. The blade glinting in the dull grey light left behind by the passing storm. "He is our King, Brother. You wanted one that would lead our people, one who would not be lax in his duties or responsibilities."

"Conrart..." Gwendal's blue eyes focused back on Yuuri and shifted almost awkwardly in his saddle as he realised that he had just ended up finding himself embarrassed not only before his troops but also in front of the humans. Yuuri Shibuya was doing everything that had been asked of him, everything the Great Demon Kingdom needed form its King and he was letting his own pride stand in the way of him seeing and respecting the gift that had finally been given to them all. "My apologies, Sire. You are right."

A suddenly burst of activity to their right had Yuuri turning, his eyes widening slightly as he realised the human had broken free of his guards and was running straight towards him. There was a glint of metal in the man's hands, a sharp blade that would easily slash his throat if he wasn't careful. His hand reached for his sword, but there was a blur of brown from the corner of his vision.

A hard punch to the human's gut had him sprawling to the ground clutching himself, while a razor sharp blade pressed against the line of the man's throat, the very tip of it drawing a tiny drop of blood. Conrart Weller stood over the human, booted foot lashing out against the man's wrist and freeing the blade from his grasp and kicking it away. "I should kill you right here and now for your actions." Conrart's low growl was a fierce one, the silver swirling in his irises, burning right into the man and cowering him. "But his Majesty has shown you lenience and mercy and I would be remiss in my service to him by spilling more of your blood."

Everyone however became very aware in one moment of just how deadly Conrart Weller truly was and to what lengths he would go to protecting his King.

"Take this piece of filth away from his Highness before I change my mind."

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Bells tolled loudly throughout the city announcing the pending coronation of the King.

The grand hall of the Castle was filled with soldiers and nobles of every description, lined up in sections and allegiances, the many colours and styles of uniform showed that every single last noble house was represented in some capacity. And for once it truly unnerved the young man who was tugging slightly at the collar of his dark jacket and the starched white shirt beneath it. "I feel damned ridiculous in this."

Conrart smiled softly at the slightly flustered appearance of his fiancé. "You look regal."

"I look like a penguin."

"I don't know what that is... but you look beautiful." Conrart's calloused palms stroked lightly up the sides of his throat before lightly cupping Yuuri's jaw, tipping his head up for a very light reassuring kiss while they were both off to one side at the end, still having a little privacy before it all began in only a minute's time. "Truly lovely."

"And you look elegant." A finger lightly traced down over the silver threads that embroidered the rich black of Conrart's own clothing. "This looks good on you, brings out the silver in your eyes." He leaned into his fiancé, feeling the strong arms curl around his body and draw him closer, his head dipping in to rest against that strong chest, listening to the steady thump of his companion's heart. "My Prince." Lips twitching slightly as he realised just how accurate that would soon be. "You will be my Prince won't you? Consort to the King and all that...?"

Conrart's eyes widened and he almost wanted to laugh, before dropping a kiss on the top of the dark head, feeling at peace for the first time in his life. Only Yuuri had ever given him that, a sense of belonging and true acceptance for who and what he was. "It appears I will be." The reality of that was still a dream to him, but something that he looked forwards to.

Soon trumpets announced the beginning of the ceremony, Yuuri stepping out from within the circle of Conrart's arms reluctantly, though he knew the only reason he would be able to get himself through this at all was because Conrart was only a step behind and to his right. The nation anthem was soon playing throughout the space, filling the hall and flowing out the doors and through the entire length of the castle.

Along the length of rich red carpet, pausing at the bottom for only a moment before he was smoothly moving up the steps towards the dragon mouthed fountain spilling water into a deep pool. To one side of it, Cecilie Von Spitzweg looked on with a brilliant smile and joy radiating from her at the sight of her second son standing just behind Yuuri, looking as proud as any Demon might have on a day like this.

Reaching the edge of the pool, his head tipped to the side and he met the warm green gaze of Cecilie, her smile genuine and heart-warming.

"Just relax, Sweetie."

"Thankyou." He whispered softly, his head tipping to the side as he regarded the beautiful woman beside him. "Thankyou for letting me have him... he is everything to me."

"He will flourish under your touch, your Majesty, he already is. Why do I have the feeling we are not talking about the Great Demon Kingdom?"

Yuuri offered her a smile and a wink before leaning forwards and stretching his hand out and letting it slip beneath the cool flow of water. He felt the cool tingle of it sliding down over his fingers and palm, offering a silent prayer that he would be able to be the King this beautiful and precious land needed.

Something suddenly yanked on his fingers, dragging him bodily forwards, his knees striking hard against the edge of the pool almost unbalancing him. A jolt ran up his spine, remembering the exact same tug that had delivered him here in the first place. A sound of denial escaped him, his body jerking backwards, attempting to free his arm from the tightening grip of the water. He didn't want to go! He didn't want to go back!

Terrified eyes met horrified cinnamon ones.

A heart-wrenching scream of Conrart's name sounded, throughout the hall, his fingertips brushing those of his prince as he was dragged backwards and into the rushing flow of water, being flung far and fast into the dark watery oblivion between worlds.

The only sound being the roar of anguish that escaped Conrart's lips as he failed to prevent Yuuri being snatched away from him.

* * *

><p><strong>This story does follow the anime and I also wanted to add in a section in this story about where Yuuri is on Earth and a little about the changes that happened there in this 'different' take on these first few episodes of the anime. I really hope you are all liking this one. By the length of the chapters you can see I do! Though I will be finishing other stories in the next week... this story is really REALLY sucking me in! <strong>


	4. Part 4: Between Two Worlds

**Author's Note: This chapter includes a little from two later episodes when it comes to the interactions between Yuuri and his family. I though it fit in well here. I hope you enjoy it!  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but one of Conrart's shirts... **

**Dedicated to all those who have reviewed my story. THANKYOU SO MUCH! It is your kind words that has inspired me to write so quickly! **

* * *

><p><strong>Hakiya Park, Japan<strong>

Awaking slowly, he groaned as awareness was slowly creeping back into his body, his eyes drifting shut against the flutter of feelings that ran all the way through him. His eyes closed for a moment, body trembling a touch, before feeling a hand lightly shaking his shoulder and rousing him. Blinking once to clear his vision, he gazed into the concerned eyes of his friend Ken Murata.

"I'm so relieved you finally came too."

His head tipped back, glancing around him and almost wanting to groan as humiliation struck him squarely in the gut. He was in the women's bathroom at the neighbourhood park. Several sets of interested eyes gazing in from the doorway to regard the entire scene with interest, their murmured voices filling the space and sounding far too loud for his ears.

_Conrart_. The single word made his entire body jerk sharply upwards, his body protesting the movement adamantly. Every part of him felt like he had taken a beating. It was only when he gazed down at himself, he realised he had, his exposed arms showing bruises all along the pale skin, his knuckles raw and red. It was clear that when he had come back... it had been right back to the situation involving him and five bigots who wanted to punish the known 'homo'.

"Hey, Shibuya?"

"I'm fine." He rasped, pushing himself upwards, staggering slightly until Ken's hand curled around his shoulder and steadied him. However, he knew those two words were complete lies until he was back where he belonged in the Great Demon Kingdom and in the arms of the only man who truly cared about him.

* * *

><p><strong>Shibuya Residence, Japan<strong>

Bright sunshine slanted in through the windows of his bedroom, spilling down across the bare shoulders of Yuuri Shibuya and the livid bruises that ran across his skin from the 'toilet' encounters with the homophobic men who had once attended the same high school as himself. Reaching out, he picked up his shirt and tugged it down over his head, and smoothing it into place to cover the worst of what had been done to him.

Silently, he cursed the fact that Bob was not only out of the country but also currently unreachable by phone. On his own, Yuuri didn't even have the slightest clue about how to open that gateway between worlds and go back to where he belonged. His heart felt like it had been trampled, throbbing painfully within his chest, knowing that something or someone had yanked him painfully back to where he no longer belonged.

One taste of the other side. One taste of being able to be... himself... be open about his affections towards another man and his heart protested the fact that he now had to stuff everything back into the box in the back of his mind. Conrart Weller. The man was perfection in Yuuri's eyes and his beautiful Prince cared for him.

Silently he picked up the jacket tossed over the back of his chair and pulled it on. It was the weekend and a small mercy for him as it gave him time away from his job to try to figure out the way to get back to where he belonged. Picking up the long leather tube that contained his foil, he carefully slung it over one shoulder, his other hand closing around the duffle containing his fencing gear. Lifting it from the floor, he was heading down the stairs and down into the living room setting both of the bags down on the couch.

"Yuu-Chan."

"Mum." He offered her a small smile before glancing down towards the place where his breakfast had already been set out alongside that of his father and brother. It was rare that his father was home Saturday mornings, often going out to play golf with business clients. "I..."

"Please..." Miko's voice was soft, her brown eyes full of concern and the deep love she felt for him. "Just once, Dear, we're... worried about you."

"For you, anything." He leaned down and pressed a kiss softly against her cheek, before drawing her surprised body in against his own, hugging her tightly and just expressing how much he did love her. "I do love you, Mum. I want you to remember that, no matter what."

"Yuu-Chan...?"

"Don't worry, its nothing." His obsidian eyes lifted when his father entered, the man sitting himself down opposite Yuuri and setting the paper down beside his prepared place at the table. "You being here for breakfast is rare, Dad, no golf games today?"

"I thought I would make time for the family today. Where would you like to go? The amusement park?"

Yuuri stopped half way through eating his piece of toast and blinked once at his father over the top of it. He was nearly nineteen. The insanity of that particular suggestion hit him and he almost wanted to laugh. "I'm sorry... I can't. I have plans for today."

"What? WHAAAT...?" The dramatic nature of Shoma Shibuya's outburst was definitely comical. "It can't be. What about our father-son interactions? Our communication? I guess the final countdown to final family disintegration has begun."

"I warned you, Darling." Miko remarked, though her gaze flickered to Yuuri's face, knowing something more than the usual was up when it came to their youngest son. "Don't get me wrong, work is important, but as I've said, if you neglect family matters it can lead to big trouble. Puberty can be..."

"Mother." Yuuri's fingers curled slightly, before relaxing, his head shaking a little, wishing he knew exactly what to say to his parents. They had loved him as best they could through everything that had happened and supported his choices when he had made them.

Suddenly a hand reached out and snatched up one of the small sausages on his plate, before it was popped into a mouth as Shori passed by him.

"You do know that was mine, Shori."

"Well you're awfully testy for a Saturday morning."

"I think someone stayed up all night playing dating sims again. Score anything, Shori?" Yuuri lifted one brow at his brother in challenge and couldn't help the grin that came when he caught the flicker of irritating that curled the other man's lips at his tease.

"Like you are one to talk." Shori responded with a roll of his eyes. "How long has it last been since you..."

"I have someone, Shori." Yuuri's voice was soft, but everyone stilled at the sound of it, their attention turning to him. "I have someone very special to me and right now I want nothing more than to be at his side again."

"You and what fantasy, Yuu-Chan?" Shori smiled, not quite believing the seriousness of Yuuri's tone. "You been into that manga of yours..."

Yuuri's chair skittered backwards at he stood, his food barely touched. "Conrart is not a fantasy." Because if he was, he wanted to fall back into that dream and never awaken from it again.

"Yuu-Chan?" Shori blinked at his brother, realising his teasing had not been the right way to go about this. "You..."

"Conrart...?" Shoma looked thoughtful for a moment, before rubbing his fingers through his hair. "Conrart Weller?"

Now that made Yuuri stare at his father, he knew Conrart had met his mother before she gave birth to him, what he hadn't known was that Conrart had met his father. Sometimes the world seemed a little smaller than he had thought was. "Yes."

"Hold on there, Yuu-Chan!" Shoma's eyes widened, staring at his youngest son for one long moment. They had known this was coming, known that one day their son would no longer be with them, but he had not thought it would be so soon. "Does this mean that you've already been made Demon King?"

"Oh my!" Miko was absolutely thrilled by the news, her cheeks flushing slightly with interest. "I wanted so much to see it!"

Yuuri flushed as he admitted. "I'm also getting married."

"Wonderful!"

Shori sat there, his jaw clenching sharply in response to Yuuri's words, his dark eyes pinning Yuuri to the spot, clearly not liking the news that had come spilling out of his younger brother's mouth.

"I think I have a picture of him around here somewhere." Shoma returned to the table, carefully setting down a photograph before Yuuri and pushing it towards his son. "This him?"

Yuuri gazed down at the image and felt his heart ache at the sight. Fingertips reached out to lightly brush over the image, caressing lightly over the features of a younger Conrart Weller, long hair framing a stoic face, eyes staring straight into the camera as he stood beside Shoma somewhere in Boston. "Conrart." Even just one night away from the man had left his heart a stone in his chest and a lead weight had settled in his stomach.

"What did you say when you proposed?" Miko was already peppering Yuuri with questions, drowning out everything else in her exuberance.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Conrart Weller was like a trapped animal, pacing the confines of the King's chambers, no one daring to think they could remove him from them. He had every right to be in them. However the one fact remained that he had failed to protect their King, failed to prevent something from dragging Yuuri Shibuya out of his grip and thrust him unwillingly back into the other world. He had been denied entry into the Tomb of the Great One, and basically forced to retreat here, where no one would get into his way.

A rage had uncoiled itself within him, one that would not be quieted until Yuuri was safely back where he belonged or Conrart had joined him on the other side. Shattered pieces of crockery still sat on the floor near the doorway, the pot of tea and meal that had been left for him swept off the table and sent crashing to the floor. How did they think he could eat anything when Yuuri could be hurt?

The door opened quietly and a tall figure slipped into the room before shutting it once more. Gwendal Von Voltaire watched his younger half brother pacing before the windows, any shred of civilisation stripped away to reveal something that always seethed beneath the surface. The wild part of Conrart Weller that had given him the name the Lion of Lutenberg and maybe he was just that, a lion caged and snarling at anyone who was fool enough to get too close to the bars. He had never seen this part of his brother, no one ever had. He had been insolent and arrogant before, but never this angry man trapped by the world.

"Conrart."

Narrowed eyes turned towards Gwendal, the swirls of metallic silver had almost completely consumed the cinnamon of his irises. His hair fell forwards to frame his face, making him appear all the more inhuman in that moment. Demon Tribe blood did run deeply within the man and it was so clear in that one moment when their gazes met.

"Conrart... calm yourself."

A ceramic bowl was knocked off the dresser, hitting the wall and shattering on impact as Conrart snarled viciously at Gwendal. "How can I be calm?" It was a low growl from Conrart, his words barely audible as he stopped before Gwendal, wanting to reach out to the other man, but his fingers clenched into tight fists as he reined in his rage. His nails cut into his palms, drawing blood from tiny crescents.

"We have been assured that he will be returning soon. Ulrike is already..."

"Do you know what it's like for him over there?" Conrart was up in Gwendal's face, actually forcing his brother back a step and his back bumped against the doors behind him. "Do you know how he has suffered, Gwendal? Belittled, beaten, _scarred_." And Conrart had seen the marks of those beatings across the pale skin of his fiancé's body. Yuuri might not talk about it, but Conrart understood, he was a half breed, they had suffered through the same rejection and humiliation at the hands of those they trusted. "I swore to him he would never again feel like that."

Gwendal's expression held a hint of understanding and regret for his own part of making the young man who had left his own world to help them. He had to admit that while Yuuri Shibuya had been in the Great Demon Kingdom it had seemed a little brighter, things had been _better_.

A hand suddenly almost stole the breath right out of Gwendal's throat, a hand was at the base of his throat, palm flat over his collarbones and thrusting him bodily into the doors with a thump. He was shocked by just how much strength was truly in his brother, though slighter than him, Conrart was a man who rarely showed everything that was within him.

"He _wants_ me." Hissing out those three words, his body trembled once, his fingers fisting in the front of his brother's jacket, bunching the deep green fabric. "Me." It was an incredulous sound, born from years of been viewed as been less than his brothers, less than those around him. "Do you know what that means to me, Gwendal? Do you honestly know what it's like to wake up to someone in your arms and to have them smile back at you... to have them stay there and not pull away and curse that they ever spent a night with you?"

Gwendal stood there stunned, navy blue eyes staring down into the face of his brother and hearing things that made him want to cringe to know that he was another one of those people. Even if he didn't seem that way... he was just as guilty as Wolfram for allowing anyone to treat his little brother like that. His _pride_. His foolish stubborn Demon pride. What use was his pride when his brother had been in pain for so long?

"What can I... do...?" Gwendal rasped, his hand lifting, practically trembling to grip his brother's shoulder tightly. "Conrart, _Brother_, what can I do to make this right?"

"I need to speak with Ulrike. I need to... Yuuri..." Conrart's eyes darkened with his emotions. It was clear in that one moment that Conrart was desperately in love with Yuuri Shibuya. "I need to be with him, wherever he may be."

"Then, we'll go, Brother. We'll go fetch the King in person from Earth if we have to."

* * *

><p><strong>Shibuya Residence, Japan<strong>

"Yuuri!"

The dark haired young man paused, his body stiff as he stood there in their front yard, one bag slung over his shoulder, the other in one hand, though he didn't turn back to gaze at his brother.

"I'm well aware of the fact that everyone in the Great Demon Kingdom needs you, Yuuri. However it's too soon." Shori moved forwards, his hand reaching out towards his brother, but knew that long ago Yuuri had stood up on his own two feet and had no longer leaned on him for support. He had been able to do nothing for his brother when he admitted to his family that he was a homosexual. They had accepted him without limits, but still... Shori couldn't accept some part of it... "Too soon for you to be _marrying_. Too soon for you to be King of some world when I'm not strong enough to protect you as I am now."

"Protect me from what, Shori?" Yuuri did turn around then, his obsidian eyes meeting his brother's and actually making Shori take a step back at the sight of so much trapped emotion within their depths. "I haven't needed protection for a very long time." His fingers curled, knuckles showing evidence of the last fight he had been in.

"I'm not ready... the Great Demon Kingdom can wait... Yuuri I need to..."

"You don't, Shori." His free hand swept out to gesture at the streets and city around them. "Your place is here, your future is here, my Brother. Mine is in a place where I'm free to be myself. Where I don't have to hide how I feel, how I act. Where I don't have to be afraid of being rejected because I feel the way I do about men." A bitter laugh escaped Yuuri's throat, his dark eyes closing. "I love you, Shori and I adore our parents, but it's time now. It's time for me to be who I was born to be."

"You do belong here, Yuu-Chan, with your family."

"I belong with Conrart Weller." His expression darkened, his lips pressing in a firm line and he gritted his jaw slightly, bowing his head and knowing that anger would solve nothing right then. "I think I love him, Shori." It had struck him hard and fast, but how could he resist it? How could he resist a man who wanted nothing more than to be beside him?

"You... what...?"

"I love him, Shori and right now... I'm stuck here with no way of getting back to him. However, that doesn't mean I'm giving up. I will get back to him, Brother, not even you."

* * *

><p><strong>Hakiya Park, Japan<strong>

Yuuri rubbed at his face, lightly brushing away the sweat that clung to his brow as his walked, his white clothing clinging to his body. His gaze however lifted from the phone in his hands when he became aware rather quickly that he was being followed, the sound of shoes against pavement made him glance behind him at the four large thugs decked out in mismatched clothing that was apparently meant to make seem more aggressive. In his opinion it made them appear foolish.

"Hey, Faggot!"

He didn't register anything to the 'greeting', his only acknowledgement of their presence was the shift of his carrier over one shoulder. He was still in his fencing whites, having spent the better part of the day burying himself into something he knew in order to think of what to do, finally coming to the conclusion that he couldn't just sit on his hands and not attempt what he knew was more than likely impossible for him to do.

"Think your special in your fancy clothes, you always walk around as if..."

"We can stick something else up your ass..."

More rather harmful comments were being thrown at him, but this time he didn't turn away, knowing that like the thousand times before that another few of this particular gang were waiting for him, ready to drag him back for another beating. For once he wasn't afraid, wasn't hurt by their words because to him, they no longer mattered. It was time for him to stop running from what he was and face up against all those who would threaten him.

"I'll give you one warning. Leave me be, I am not in the mood to deal with this."

"Not in the mood? Not in the MOOD?"

Yuuri carefully set down the duffle at his feet, slipping the carrier down onto the ground on top of it, he reached down for it. His hand closed around the hilt of his épée, the heaviest of the three weapons he used in his basic fencing classes. The dull heavier sword he used with his other trainer was at home in the lock box under his bed where no one could get to it. The weapon was blunt and couldn't cut a thing, tipped only with the pressure sensor that registered a hit during a duel. However, one good stroke and it would leave a good sized bruise.

_"Use what you have." _

And he would.

The blade lifted up and he considered his opponents for a long moment, his jaw lifting as he felt a sense of pride fill him at the thought that when he got back to the Great Demon Kingdom he would be able to look Conrart in the eye and say he was no longer afraid because he knew the man believed in him, wanted him.

"I may be gay, I'm damned proud to be. No words from you, no beatings from your _thugs_ will change that." Obsidian eyes flashing, he took a step forwards, chin tipped up in defiance. "I'm no longer afraid."

And when the first of them lunged at him, he met the man with a booted foot to the belly and his épée to the man's face. Spinning and ducking, he was feeling the warmth of a freedom he had never tasted fill him. He had something to live for, something more than duties, something more than just for the sake of living.

Two of the gang actually turned and fled as he faced off against them, his blade sweeping out his other hand curled into the fist and fought with everything he had against those who had thought to beat him back down. By the end of it, Yuuri Shibuya stood bloody, sweating and bruised, but wearing a grin from ear to ear.

"Shibuya!" Ken Murata was hurrying towards him at a dead run, the slightly shorter man coming to a stop before his friend, gazing down at the three men sprawled on the grass in the quietest part of the park with surprise. "What... did you do?"

"What I should have done in the first place." And he knew in that moment there really was no turning back, he had long ago said his goodbyes to his parents, but in that moment he whispered it again in his heart, gazing out at the world he didn't belong any longer to.

He would get back, it was about time he stopped stalling and truly did something about it. However, the reason was not the Great Demon Kingdom, but the one man he knew would be waiting for his return. He wanted to make a world where people like Conrart Weller could live knowing that they didn't have to fight for the rights and respect that should have been theirs in the first place. He wanted to make a world where humans and Demon Tribe no longer feared their differences but celebrate what they had in common.

* * *

><p>Water magic seeped through his veins, every part of him practically tingling as he sank into the water of the private bathhouse that Ken Murata had dragged him off to in order to clean him up before returning him home. Tiny little eddies shimmered across the water's surface, Yuuri attempting to ease into the spell... or at least try and work out exactly how to make the connection. Eyes closing, he tried to reach out for that power buried deep down within himself, attempting to work out exactly how to channel it with more precision than he had so far demonstrated.<p>

"A good soak is definitely what I needed." Anything to get his thoughts of a certain chocolate haired half-blood sitting in a tub of steaming water and him slowly sponging every inch of that...

"Shibuya."

Yuuri grinned, settling back a little in the water, partially amused by the entire situation as he watched Ken Murata flush for just a moment when he turned his head to regard him over his shoulder.

"You look happier than you did a few days ago." Murata sat on the small stool, his legs stretched out before him as he rubbed soap down over his body. "Something happen?"

"Yes." The dark haired man scrubbed off what remained of the blood seeping from the half clotted cut that ran across part of his forehead. "Something definitely did." He had meet a Prince and...

"So... you finally decided."

Both raven brows shot upwards at that, his head twisting around to regard Ken with an intense but curious stare. "Ken?"

"You finally decided that you do want to be Demon King, but for the right reason this time."

Yuuri's mouth dropped open as he was about so say something, his eyes blinking wide as he stared at his long time friend and realised that this man knew the truth of both who and what he was and somehow about what had happened to him. "The right reason?"

"Its not just a duty to you, Shibuya. You honestly want to do this, you want the world to be different and your heart is much stronger for it." Smiling slowly, dark brown eyes that were almost black glittered with an ancient knowledge and understanding within them. "You finally... aren't afraid anymore. We had to be sure."

"We... who?" Yuuri's head tipped to the side as he felt the tiny shimmering eddies coil around his fingers, tugging lightly at his hand. "How do you know about...?"

"You'll find out someday, my friend, but right now... I think there is somewhere you should be. I promise no more unexpected trips. I think I have him convinced about that."

And he felt his feet being tugged around from beneath him, his entire body beginning to slide towards the plug hole, his fingers sliding against the smooth tiling. The spells he had been attempting earlier added to its strength, beginning to suck him downwards with more force. His head went under and he was being pitched forwards into that twisting and whirling void, though desperately hoping that this time wherever he came out would include anything to cover the fact that he was as naked as the day he was born.

* * *

><p><strong>Voltaire Castle, Voltaire Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Steam drifted around him as he was finally coming back to himself, his eyes blinking sightly against the brightness of the sunshine that spilled down across the heated waters of the open air bath around him. Slowly righting himself in the water, his gaze caught the faint outline of two people over to one side and he buried his face in one hand, hoping desperately that this was not somewhere he would end up getting more than just his eyes plucked from his head for the impertinence of looking.

The long shadow of hair spilling around shoulders definitely made him bury his face into his hand, sighing and knowing that women might take even more offense to his presence than men. "Please no." He breathed out softly.

"Your Majesty?" Asked one of the misty blurs.

"Its his Highness!"

And suddenly Yuuri became very aware that it wasn't two women who had been talking to him, but two men. His gaze immediately flickered skywards, determined not to look at look at any part of them because there was only one naked body that he wanted to stare at.

Abruptly he was sent backwards into the water, two bodies wrapping around his own, making him actually fight to get away from the 'cuddle' of the two rather... interesting gentlemen. Water was filling his mouth, stealing the air from his lungs in a great rush of bubbles.

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Don't worry we're not going to hurt you!"

"Your Majesty!" Gunter was hurrying forwards upon hearing the voices of the two men coming from the bath and exactly what they were saying. "I'm here, your Majesty!"

A garbled version of 'help!' escaped Yuuri, his entire body submerged.

"I am Gunter Von Christ and I demand that you release him this instant!"

The two men paused in their 'assault', staring over at where the Royal Aide stood near the pool, "You're Lord Gunter?"

"You are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen. I want to..."

Yuuri was abandoned, flailing almost helplessly in the water as Gunter was barrelled over by the barely covered pair of twins that were clearly determined to do more than just 'assist' Gunter right at that moment.

"Yuuri!"

The cry of his name had his head jerking around and his eyes lit up at the sight of Conrart Weller already coming down the stairs and into the water, not caring about the fact that his pants were being soaked through. Yuuri launched himself at the man, pouncing him and wrapping arms and legs around the man, clinging to him and definitely not wanting to let go. His mouth found that of his fiancé and practically devoured him on the spot. A pleased little groan escaped him when Conrart's hands shifted, determined to steady Yuuri and only ended up with his hands full of Yuuri's bare arse.

One hand coiled into the silky hair, drawing Conrart back into another blistering kiss as his entire body rubbed up against Conrart's damp woollen uniform, feeling his lover's body already responding desperately to his own. "I've missed you." He whispered raggedly against warm lips. "So very much."

"I was going crazy without you." Conrart admitted, their foreheads resting together lightly, as their breaths mingled and they were unaware of anything for several long moments as they remained like that.

Face buried against the side of Conrart's throat, he brushed his lips back and forth just there, his hips squirming slightly as those hands tightened just a little, making his body even hotter right at that moment. Only the sound of Gunter's 'pleas for release' sounded did both men remember that they weren't the only ones present and Yuuri was as naked as a newborn.

Reluctantly, Yuuri allowed himself to uncoil from around his lover's body, before they were both heading out of the water, Conrart stripping off his still mostly dry jacket and wrapped the length of it around Yuuri. The warmth and scent that clung to it made Yuuri groan and bury his nose in against the collar of it, gland that it went down to his thighs when he pulled it a little more tightly around himself.

"You know the thoughts that just went through your mind, my Prince?" His gaze dropped down to Conrart's pants, making it clear that what both of them had wanted was definitely going to be happening sooner than the wedding. "Don't forget them, because I am definitely not giving up an opportunity to claim what's mine tonight."

A hot aroused shudder ran through Conrart at those words and the sight of Yuuri standing in his uniform jacket. However, his eyes darkened the moment he noticed the dark bruising running along Yuuri's knuckles. His hand reached out to carefully curl it around one slender wrist and drew it upwards, thumb sliding over the damage that had been done, that deep rage he had finally managed to cool suddenly gained a lot of fuel.

"Somebody hurt you." Conrart's head dipped and his lips grazed over the broken skin, glancing back towards the drowned looking Gunter who was still being rather waylaid by the pair of towel wearing twins.

"Nothing a little time and salve won't cure." Yuuri offered him a reassuring smile and almost squeaked when powerful arms suddenly scooped him up, his face ending up buried against the warm curve of Conrart's neck. His arms immediately wrapped around broad shoulders, flushing adorably as he found himself being carried in the direction of the castle in the grasp of his fiancé. "Conrart..."

He didn't say anything, just moved through the large castle as familiar with it as he was with Covenant Castle, he had often accompanied Gwendal at times here. Conrart Weller didn't care what anyone wanted with Yuuri, he would keep them away until he could see the damage himself.

"I'm fine..."

"You _aren't_." Shouldering open the door to his own room, he slammed it shut with one booted foot with a heavy slam. The bed was the next place the smaller man was ending up, his body sprawled across soft blankets and the jacket was quickly unbuttoned and pushed away, baring him for the first time to his lover completely. Dark bruises ran the length of that slender body, making Conrart let out an angry hiss of fury, his fingers lightly touching one of them and watching Yuuri wince slightly and scoot away slightly. "I promised..." Conrart's voice was a hoarse choked sound, dropping to his knees beside the bed, his cinnamon gaze was swimming with tiny shimmering silver stars. "Yuuri... I promised I would never let anything happen to you..."

"Conrart...?" Yuuri pushed himself up on his elbows, gazing down on the bent head of his lover, watching those shoulders tremble with so much emotion that was being bottled up within him.

"I have no excuse for myself, your Highness. I vowed to protect you at the cost of my own life and yet I failed you."

"It was the will of the Great One I think." Yuuri flopped back onto the bedding, rolling over onto his side so one eye could gaze down onto the bent head of his beloved. One hand stretched out to caress that silky head, rubbing down along the back of it to his nape, fingers caressing little circles just beneath the collar of his shirt. "I have no idea exactly what happened, but I have a feeling it won't happen again." Thank god. He never wanted to ever go through that kind of journey again. "If you start blaming yourself over this... I won't be sharing the bed with you anytime soon."

Conrart blinked sharply at that, his head lifting, eyes widening as he stared into beautiful obsidian orbs that only showed a happiness at finally having returned to where he belonged. "Yuu...ri?"

"I wouldn't mind you fixing me up about now. I swear I can never reach the ones on my back. I have a feeling we've probably got about twenty minutes before Gunter finds both of us... You didn't fail me, you saved me."

Now that truly left the man puzzled while he slowly got to his feet and was picking up a jar of herbal salve, understanding that now was not the time for a healer. It was the will of his King and he was just grateful to be allowed to tend to him. "I do not see how."

"I realised something when I was on Earth, I realised something about myself and what I'm doing and its thanks to you." Grinning brightly up at his fiancé, he was shifting into a sitting position.

Conrart seated himself behind Yuuri, searing his fingers with the pale salve and slowly, gingerly started rubbing it into the dark bruises, his head dipping forwards to lightly press a kiss to the side of his lover's throat. Cheek touching lightly against the curve of Yuuri's jaw, his anger, his pain was evaporating. Everything that had raged within him soothed back into what it had been the first time this man had touched him, reached out towards him and allowed him close.

"I have no words to describe how I feel now that you have been returned to me."

"I have one word to describe how I feel right now. _Happy_." Yuuri's dark eyes drifted closed and he just relaxed into the companionable silence between them, feeling large calloused hands tend to his bruises and scrapes. "Happy to be once more with you."

* * *

><p>Yuuri laughed softly as he lightly smoothed down the white shirt he had pinched from amongst Conrart's clothing, his nose buried against the collar and inhaling with a sigh of delight. It ran down over his thighs and the nicely fitting black pants and boots that Conrart had brought with him. "Beware, my Prince, you might find some more of your shirts missing by the end of the week."<p>

"If it is you wearing them... I see no problem in sharing them." Not when they were _his_, not when he felt a bright burst of joy at seeing Yuuri take such pleasure in something so simple as wearing one of his shirts. It also covered the bruises well, it would not do for Gunter or Gwendal learning about them... though Conrart would been watching his lover for the slightest hint of discomfort and he would seek out a healer.

"Can you tell me more about Cavalcade?" Yuuri tipped his head up to gaze at the man who walked beside him as they headed for Gwendal's office. "What has Gwendal so concerned?"

"We have been detecting aggressive human activities along the border and we are expecting there might be a battle soon." There was a touch of pride in Conrart's chest over the fact that Yuuri trusted his words and was already getting back into his duties without so much as a twitch of regret in his decisions.

"Cavalcade is spending lots of money hiring esoteric skill handlers, humans need wizards in order to fight against our Demon Tribesmen." Gwendal was pushing himself off from where he had been leaning against the wall, his gaze flickering over the pair of men before him and almost seemed to relax already. "There is a possibility that they will declare war against the Great Demon Kingdom." However for once, Gwendal looked at their King and remembered what had happened when supplies had been sent to the human village just across the border. _Children_ had come out to greet them, their thin faces brightening at the sight of fresh supplies and those men from the village who had been reluctant to attack Vellandenburg.

"This kingdom doesn't need another war." Yuuri said softly in response, his eyes meeting Gwendal's for a long moment. "There are many other options besides war for us to take, negotiations... treaties. I will not sanction a war against the humans. We can no longer stand by such a view of humans, there are many within this very kingdom who are human..."

"I will endeavour to accommodate your wishes, Sire. I..." Gwendal let out a quiet breath, before straightening. "I have to agree with you on this, war is not a solution."

Gunter stopped at that, lavender eyes widening as he gazed at Gwendal and wondered at the abrupt change within the man and the obvious deference he was giving to their King.

"From what my contacts have discovered, it appears that Sondergard is doing it, however the money was paid by Cavalcade. I will make further enquiries into the matter, because there has to be more to this than what we are seeing." Gwendal regarded Conrart with a tired smile, looking very relieved that Conrart was no longer terrifying the staff of his home. It had been Ulrike who had told them that Yuuri was returning and that he would be appearing somewhere within Voltaire Castle's grounds. A week of Conrart's... disquieted presence had set everyone's nerves on edge.

"Hey Yuuri! You just disappeared right in the middle of your Coronation Ceremony! What's that all about?" Wolfram appeared from basically out of nowhere, scowling up at the dark haired king, hands resting on his hips. "Do you know what it's like to live with an angry Conrart Weller for _two_ weeks?"

Yuuri jerked at that, his gaze immediately flickering around to Conrart's face and caught the glimmer of anguish that ran across his features. His hand immediately reached out to lightly brush down Conrart's arm, shifting in to lean against his side and felt the strong arm coil around his waist, tucking him in close to the warmth of his fiancé's body. "It was... only six days for me." He admitted softly, already hating the difference in times between the two worlds.

"You better not disappear again."

"Trust me, I have no intention to, nor did I want to go the first time." Closing his eyes, he remembered back to Ken Murata's words just before he had been literally sucked down the plughole. "You won't have to fear it happening again, the point that was being made to me was received and the Great One has no need to send me back. This kingdom is my home." His head turned just enough to press a soft kiss against one strong shoulder. "My home is with you, my Prince." His voice was a soft whisper for only Conrart to hear and made the man relax against him.

All of them had finally settled inside Gwendal's office, Conrart settling himself on the elegant couch off to one side, Yuuri curled against his side, cheek resting against one shoulder.

Gwendal was unrolling a map of the Great Demon Kingdom onto the low table before the pair, pointing out their current location, that of Cavalcade and of Sondergard, spending several minutes explaining exactly which areas were becoming increasingly more aggitated by the movement of so many magic handlers on the human side of the border.

"Hey Gwendal!"

At the sound of the cheerful voice, everyone in the room suddenly froze, all except for Yuuri who lifted his head slightly off Conrart's shoulder and blinked at the bright eyed woman who stood in the doorway, her long magenta hair falling in a long cascade down her back.

"Gwendal guess what!" She almost seemed to sparkling with her enthusiasm. "I invented a new magical device! Will you help me with my experiment?"

Gwendal looked as if he was about to either have heart-failure or a stroke, his entire body remaining stiff and resting hard against the edge of the low table.

Her eyes thankfully drifted from Gwendal to regard the man curled up next to Conrart on the couch, her smile genuine as she approached. "It's been a while, your Majesty, I think the last time was at the coronation ceremony. However, I was seated at the far end of the aristocrats. Anyway, this is the first time I've been able to talk to you in person. I am Lady Anissina Von Karbelnikoff."

"Good morning, Lady Anissina." Flashing her a smile of his own, he snuggled just a little more against Conrart, unable to help but admit that he was privately exhausted from the day he had had and the fact that he had ended up being dumped back in the Demon Kingdom early in the day.

"She's known Gwendal since childhood." Conrart explained softly to Yuuri, lifting one hand to lightly brush his fingers against the raven strands that had fallen into his lover's face, carefully stroking them back into place.

"I understand the current situation very well, women and children will suffer if you involve the Tribe in a bloody war all for men's worthless pride."

"Who spoke anything about war?" Gwendal grumbled, navy blue eyes narrowing ever so slightly, harrumphing slightly and knowing that once Anissina got started it was doubtful she was going to stop anytime soon.

"Well I have the solution! We just have to prevent humans from coming over here."

And with those words, Yuuri learned firsthand about the little piece of genius crossed with crazy ideas and enthusiasm that were packaged up in the form of Anissina Von Karbelnikoff.

* * *

><p>"I may have a plan." Gwendal said as he sat behind his desk and regarded Yuuri Shibuya as he stood before it, their eyes meeting over the top of the desk. "We need to make the humans lose interest in meddling with us. Gunter."<p>

"We, the Demon Tribe, have a hidden weapon that can only be touched by our true Demon King. According to legend, it is so powerful that if it is put into motion it will burn to the end of the world. The ultimate weapon, Morgif." Gunter regarded both Gwendal and Yuuri for a long moment, knowing that their plan however was not quite something that agreed with the likes of Yuuri Shibuya.

"There is something like that out there?" His eyes turned to gaze out into the darkness, as if trying to find exactly where this famous weapon was located. "Something that dangerous is out there in the world?"

"Yes. Eight generations ago, the King put it into motion one last time and since then, its whereabouts were unknown."

"Do you know where it is, Gunter?"

Gwendal groaned softly, knowing in that one moment, that their 'ultimate weapon' would never be used in battle. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel a slight smile tug at the corners of his lips. However, for all his gentleness and show of mercy to those who deserved none, Yuuri Shibuya was no weak King.

"It is in a land known as Vandavia Island, which sits within Big Cimaron territory, but I cannot allow his Majesty to go there."

"There is one flaw with that, didn't you just say I was the only one who could touch it?" Yuuri looked almost amused by that, but his eyes closed after a moment, looking thoughtful and turning his attention back towards Gwendal. "Gwendal..."

"The paperwork can wait another week or two, but do not think that you will escape it once you return." Gwendal scowled slightly at Yuuri, but the harshness wasn't at all in his eyes. "I expect you to fulfil all your duties upon your return."

"Well... this will give me a chance to catch up on reading those books you found me, Gunter and..." His gaze turned towards Conrart, offering his fiancé a warm inviting grin. "Maybe you can teach me to read?"

"He cannot...?" Everyone but Gunter looked startled by that pronouncement.

"It seems his Highness can speak our language, but he has only the ability to read raised script. I had begun his instruction before his coronation but it would be helpful if he continued his studies."

"Certainly, Yuuri." Conrart smiled, feeling an odd warmth spreading through his chest to know that he would be able to do something more for Yuuri.

"I'm going along too." Wolfram crossed his arms and almost rolled his green eyes heavenward at both Conrart and Yuuri. "Or those two might just end up getting themselves right into a nest of trouble if no one is watching them."

* * *

><p><strong>WOW XD four episodes done! XD The next one however is going to let me have a lot more fun! We are finally getting to where Conrart can play fiance in public and be all possessive! We get to meet Yozak and finally see his reaction to when he finds out that Conrart and Yuuri are engaged. LOOL. Yuuri facing off against Pirates and a sea-sick Wolfram.<strong>


	5. Part 5: Of Pirates And Kings

**Author's Note: A little warning. This does contain some lemony goodness. I thought it was about time that they could finally enjoy what they have together. LOL **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing, but honestly wished I did. **

**Dedicated to all those who read my last chapter. NINE REVIEWS! THANNNNNNNNKYOUUUUUU! Very encouraging!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Passenger Ship <em>Calario<em>, Unclaimed Waters**

"Alright, here it goes."

"Please don't let it be painful, Conrart."

"Just leave it to me. You'll be fine."

Wolfram Von Bielefeld jerked upwards from sleep, his green eyes widening slightly at the voices that had woken him in the first place, his mind definitely thinking of things it shouldn't. "What?"

"There, the contact lenses are in." Conrart stood before Yuuri, the fingers of one hand lightly stroking the mane of dyed hair that hung around his fiancé's face. A fingertip rested beneath his lover's jaw, tipping it upwards and dipping his head to kiss him when they both heard a rather noisy snort from Wolfram. "You look quite human now."

"Feels like pebbles in my eyes." Yuuri whispered, blinking rapidly, the now dark brown irises looking extremely odd in that pale face, but the disguise was quite good considering.

"How are you feeling, Wolfram?" It was almost amusing to see his younger brother sprawled out across the bed in one of the two connecting cabins that they had hired. It had become apparent the moment the ship had pulled away from dock that Wolfram was not going to take the sea crossing well.

"Not very good," The younger Demon answered, cheeks flushing and looking like he wanted to throw up what remained in his stomach.

"Still seasick?" Yuuri wished that there was something he could do for Wolfram's bouts of seasickness, but there was nothing for it. "Is it worse than last night?"

"Hard to say."

"Well, you should have told us... we might have been able to bring something from the castle for it." Yuuri was standing, Conrart's arms sliding around him and drawing him in close the moment Wolfram flopped back down onto the bed. Lifting his face again, he finally did receive a wonderful morning kiss, their mouths meeting and lingering for long moments.

"Let's get breakfast." Conrart whispered softly, his lips trailing from mouth to ear, nipping softly at his lover's earlobe and allowing his hands to slide from his waist downwards. Palms smoothed down across his lover's rear, lifting him and pulling him in closer, their hips touching intimately.

"Don't mention food in front of me. I'm too sick to eat."

"You should try eating something, Wolfram, you need to keep your strength up. I'll have a look at what's there and see what will stay down and bring that back for you."

Yuuri and Conrart slipped out into the corridor, the two men relaxing, though Yuuri tipped back his head to study the extreme luxury of the ship around them. "Does it bother you that Gunter booked us on this luxury ship?" He leaned against his fiancé's side delighted by the way a strong arm coiled around him, drawing him even closer to that reassuring warmth.

Both of them turned at the sound of one of the doors down the corridor opening and a small blonde haired little girl was drawing along an older man from within. The man's head lifted and he gazed at them with interest, the little girl's bright blue eyes blinking at them as well.

"Hello." Yuuri greeted warmly, his arm hugging Conrart a little more possessively to him.

"A pleasant good morning to you, Sir." The man responded as he approached. A hand lifting to his hat and he lifted it up and off his head... the hair coming along with it. Bowing, the bare skin positively shone with a blinding light.

Yuuri's lips parted in surprise, while he blinked, attempting to clear the tiny white spots that danced before his eyes from the 'flash' of the man's bald scalp. "Oh... my."

The tall half-blood smiled slightly, giving Yuuri's side a little squeeze of affection. "Please excuse our surprise, my fiancé is not use to the Cavalcade-style of greeting."

"Now that is one of the most interesting greetings I've yet seen." Mouth turning upwards into a smile, his fingers curled into Conrart's fine silver and white shirt, the edge of his still sore knuckles brushing the edge of his lover's sword belt.

"That is quite alright." The bald man said, bowing his head ever so slightly in acknowledgement of those words and looked at the pair rather fondly. "It is lovely to see two such charming people engaged and so in love."

A fine flush ran across Yuuri's cheeks, but he definitely didn't deny the words 'in love', he wasn't quite ready to say them, not quite yet... but he felt it deep within his heart and soul. He loved Conrart Weller with everything he was.

"I apologise for not introducing myself sooner, I am Heathcrife of Missinigh and this young lady is my daughter, Beatrice."

"My fiancé is a silk merchant, Mitsuzaemon of Echigo."

Now that did make Yuuri want to laugh, his bright eyes turning upwards to gaze into Conrart's face. His hand lifted, brushing two fingers along Conrart's smooth, recently shaven cheek. "And this is my Con."

"My goodness, it sounds like both of you are far from home, but at least you are both together. Are you eloping?"

"I should throw you overboard."

The muffled words made both Conrart and Yuuri turn sharply towards the way they had been coming down the corridor. Yuuri stepped towards its source, his expression turning to one that was strained and filled with a moment of remembrance. Before Conrart could say anything, the younger man was hurrying forwards, Conrart managed to bow his head in respect at their new acquaintances before following quickly after Yuuri.

"How many times do I have to tell you?"

Yuuri came onto deck, his eyes widening at the sight of a young boy being beaten against a wall by a crewmember. Everything inside of Yuuri rebelled at the sight of another being so treated after it had happened to him so often. His fingers clenched into fists and he moved forwards, one hand wanting to reach for his sword that rested at his hip, but he couldn't... "Stop...!" The word was choked from him, gazing into the boy's face.

"Stay out of... Oh, I apologise, Sir." The crewman's demeanour changed when he realised that it was one of the guests that had stopped him. "I thought you were another trainee. I'm sorry you had to witness this, but he made a foolish mistake."

"You shouldn't..." His voice and his body trembled ever so slightly, until he felt fingers brush against his arm.

"It's an eyesore, my Fiancé is offended." Conrart strode forwards, his voice hard and sharp, cinnamon eyes narrowing on the man who had so distressed Yuuri.

"That's too bad..."

There was a flash of coins being pressed into the man's palm. Conrart shifting in order to prevent Yuuri from seeing any more.

"I apologise."

"Don't you have somewhere else you have to be?"

"Yes, Sir." And the man took off across the deck and vanished from sight quickly.

The boy slowly lifted himself off the deck, one cheek a little bruised from where he had been struck, but otherwise unharmed. He bowed in respect to both of them before hurrying away in the opposite direction than the sailor.

The moment they were all gone, Conrart was beside Yuuri, both arms wrapping tightly around his lover's waist and drawing him into a tight hug, feeling Yuuri shaking ever so slightly with so many emotions and responses to what he had seen. One hand cupped the back of his lover's head, drawing it in against his throat, stroking his fingers through the dyed locks, rocking him ever so gently. "I have you, Yuuri." Conrart breathed softly against his hair, feeling hands curl into the back of his jacket and the damp heat of tears against the side of his neck. "Oh my, precious Lover..." His heart ached to see such a thing, but he knew it had been a long time coming after what had happened to both of them. The stress and strain being too much to keep inside.

Yuuri let out the tears, knowing no one but Conrart would see and know... of all the pain he had felt for so long.

* * *

><p>"I have to admit there is one thing about this trip I don't mind." Yuuri rolled over onto his side, his eyes following the movement of his fiancé through their own cabin, eyes fixed on that tight rear clothed only in tight pants. "The view is spectacular."<p>

Conrart turned slightly, a smile lighting up his face as he realised exactly what part of his anatomy his lover had been watching as he stripped off his shirt and sword belt. He couldn't help but admit that the view from where he was standing of Yuuri sprawled over their shared bed clothed only in those loose pants was quite a view as well. Though the bruises still marred that pale skin, they had faded over the last two days and now were only shadows against the silky ivory flesh.

"We finally have time and peace." Yuuri stretched, hips arching slightly before settling onto his back, arms lifting to rest on either side of his bed, fingers curling slightly. "I don't want to see another book for the rest of the day." Though he was thankful the contacts had come out, he knew he couldn't wash the dye out of his hair quite yet, so he looked a little silly like that, his hair a shade of reddish brown.

A low laugh escaped the young man, his body shifting slightly against the mattress, his gaze flickering over the length of Conrart's body again, before settling on the man's face. "Tell me about yourself."

Both chocolate brows lifted up into his hairline at that, before he was settling himself down onto the edge of the bed, large hands reaching out to stroke softly over the muscular stomach and upwards. "What would you like to know?" Head dipping down, he explored his lover's navel with a slow tickle of his tongue, feeling fingers curl into his hair and encourage him to continue.

"What is your favourite memory?" Yuuri let out a breathy sigh of pleasure, relaxing back into the sheets, delighting in the feel of Conrart's large hands drifting over his skin, learning him as he had learned Conrart the first night he had managed to draw the man to his chambers. "What's the one thing that will make you smile, no matter what the situation?"

"Besides the first moment I saw you?"

"Conrart..." A smile tugged at his lips. The younger man barely aware of the fact his pants were slowly beginning drawn off and down to be dropped onto the floor.

Fingers tickled along one thigh, thumb circling against the soft inner part, just letting his touches remain slow and soothing. His mouth shifted away from that navel, tiny little nipping kisses being brushed down towards hardening parts of his body. "So beautiful." Conrart whispered softly, his eyes dark with hunger and passion, the silvery sparks swirling through the depths of heated cinnamon. "So very... _very_ lovely..." The low purr of that smooth accent made a shiver of delicious heat coil upwards through Yuuri's entire body. "I've been dreaming about you..."

"And you are all I think about." The man gasped out, hips arching upwards as those lips slowly drifted closer to his aching erection, the tiny kisses sliding along the length of his inner thigh and knee. Wild locks of hair grazed against the twitching flesh, drawing a tiny whimper from the back of his throat.

"Really?" Those hungry eyes turned on Yuuri, pinning him in place for a long moment before a smile tugged at the corners of his lips at the sight of his lover flushed and hard for him. "Though I think right now, I don't want you thinking at all."

Yuuri let out a muffled cry of surprise as a hot mouth suddenly devoured him whole, his entire body arching sharply upwards, his fingers desperately clinging to that dark head. Trembling, he let out a shaky breath, eyes closing tightly, when teeth slowly began to scrape up across the underside. Tongue flicking out to tease the head, tickling across the slit, one large calloused palm cupped his balls lightly and squeezed. The other drifting upwards to torment a nipple, fingernail playing over the sensitive bud, circling it slowly.

"You are all that I live for." It was barely above a whisper, silvery cinnamon eyes glittering with emotion as they gazed up at Yuuri, there was a silent plea within their depths, searching for something only Yuuri could provide.

"You will be all I'll ever need to make me happy." The words 'I love you' still stuck in his throat, his heart aching desperately, pleading for him to say it... but... he couldn't...

Each long draw on his length had him arching higher, legs spread as Conrart rested between them, licking up every drop of fluid that escaped, hands sliding back and forth across his spread thighs. Caressing him until every nerve was threaded through with fire. His lips parted, gasping for air as he desperately arched, trembling with the desire that was rapidly spiralling out of control. Just as spots began to flicker before Yuuri's eyes that mouth moved, dropping downwards, a hand coiling around his length and jerking him off hard, thumb rubbing along the crown of that pulsing hardness.

A long slow lick over the delicate skin of his balls, drawing them into his mouth before teasing the hypersensitive perineum and...

His head arched back, body convulsing as he climaxed with a hard jolting rush. Large hands pinned his thighs down, preventing him from drawing away from the deep licks that teased his sweetspot deep inside and stretched him in the most delicious manner. Yuuri's hands curled desperately into the sheets on either side of him, hissing out his pleasure as wave upon wave crashed over him, face contorted with bliss.

Yuuri didn't even realise when that mouth pulled away, a fingertip continuing to slowly circle and tease his entrance. There was a rustle of fabric and a heavy clunk of boots hitting the floor. Then a warm weight spread across his entire body, heated skin searing Yuuri's own with the memory of this intimacy. Obsidian eyes fluttered one when a mouth brushed against his own, feather light and teasing, a tongue slipping across the seam and then inside, devouring the King whole.

Hands lifting, they stroked across the length of his lover's back, feeling the play of harm muscles beneath tawny skin. Fingertips traced every scar, his lips touching against the one that slashed across Conrart's brow. Knees spread on either side of Conrart's hips, he wrapped his legs around the back of his lover's thighs, tugging them forwards, feeling something achingly hard press against his entrance and he squirmed pushing back against it.

"I..." Conrart's cinnamon eyes gazed down into Yuuri's, one calloused palm stroking a hip, hesitating. "Yuuri..."

"I want you deep inside me, Lover." His voice was a low hungry rasp, fingernails scrapping over that tight rear, pulling him closer and arching his body a little more insistently. "I'm not going to break. I want you, Conrart Weller, I want you to be my last."

The soldier thrust in deeply, impaling his lover and hissing out a breath of shock at just how tight and hot his lover was. Shifting his weight onto his elbows that rested on either side of his lover, his angle shifted and his next thrust stroked a long sizzling trail right against Yuuri's sweetspot. The man arched with a cry of pleasure, fingernails scoring lightly against Conrart's broad back. Their bodies were already moving together, a hot tight friction that left both shuddering with the exquisiteness of the fit.

"So tight." He breathed, pushing in deeper this time, his head arched back as one hand reached down to coil around Yuuri's length, stroking the man in counterpoint to his thrusts. Their mouths met again, a hot tangle of lips and tongues. Bodies sliding slickly, everything within them ready to shatter from the force of their joining.

"Harder." Yuuri groaned, head rolling back against the pillows, kiss-bruised lips parted, Conrart's mouth against the rapidly fluttering pulse at his neck. "Please..._I_..." Another choked moan escaped him, muscles burning slightly with the sheer size of his lover filling him again and again. He was desperately trying to keep hold of the powerful half-breed stretched out over him, stars exploding behind his eyes. "Yes!"

Conrart strained, gazing down into that beautiful face and exploded deep within the man, dropping forwards across his lover's body pinned beneath his own, hearing Yuuri screaming out his name close to his ear. All the while, Conrart spilled himself deep within that welcoming passage, unable to pull away and not even wanting to try. Both of them lay sprawled in a tangle of limbs, panting hard in an attempt to catch their breath. Yuuri squirmed, muscles clenching squeezing around the still hard length buried deeply within that willing body.

One hand pushed at a broad shoulder, a sound caught in Conrart's throat, fear lancing through him that he was being pushed away. "No..." He breathed out in a shaken plea, trying to force himself upwards, his limbs not wanting to cooperate with him. "Yuuri... I..." He would do better the next time... Any other word when out of him when he realised with a start the movements had not to push him off but to roll him over. Yuuri came with him in that movement, straddling Conrart's hips, still intimately connected together.

Pushing back sweat dampened hair, Yuuri gazed down at Conrart, seeing in his eyes the shimmer of fear that came from so many rejections of what he was by those he had cared about enough to share an encounter like this. However, he dipped his head down, one hand spread across the broad chest palm flat over Conrart's heart as he kissed him deeply, silencing any other sound Conrart was going to make. "We are definitely not finished yet, my Prince."

Leaning back on his knees, he lifted his hips, the still hard erection almost slipping free of Yuuri's body before he impaled himself again, dropping suddenly downwards. Muscles clenched and tightened with his next movement, attempting to keep that hot length within him. Next time he dropped, Conrart's hips thrust upwards to meet him, driving a low throaty moan from the younger man.

Yuuri's head dipped downwards and he flicked his tongue against one nipple, rubbing it with the tip, delighting in the way his lover hissed out a breath. One large hand threaded through the hair at his nape, cradling his skull and keeping him pressed close. Both palms were mapping out the length of his lover's body, caressing every inch he could touch. Fingertips touched that hot mouth and felt two fingertips being drawn into it, tongue sliding over the sensitive pads. It made Yuuri's length twitch in response, eyes closing as he just watched Conrart's face through half hooded eyes.

Conrart's hands stroked down over his lover's rear, supporting his weight as he watched Yuuri ride him like that, being witness to the ecstasy that crossed that beautiful face with each deep penetration. He knew he was lost, they both were.

Yuuri strained as he sank down onto that hard length again, thighs trembling with the strain and just felt Conrart rocking hard and deeply against him, that length rubbing hot burning lines of friction against his sweetspot. It was too much. He came first, crying out the man's name, unashamed this time if anyone heard them, wanting the world to know about what they shared. A hoarse rasp of Yuuri's name followed as Conrart spilled himself again within his lover.

Yuuri sprawled across Conrart's chest, his face pressed in against the curve of his neck as he trembled with what they had finally shared. Powerful arms coiled around Yuuri, hugging him close, skin to skin, nothing between them. Fingertips tenderly rubbed against the nape of his neck as he snuggled in closer, exhausted and so deeply sated that he didn't want to move ever from where he was stretched across Conrart's broad chest.

"Should have done this earlier..." Yuuri whispered, turning his head enough that he could brush tiny kisses against Conrart's jaw, sliding his own arms around the broad chest, leaning in closer.

It would be a long time before either moved... or even wanted to move.

* * *

><p>The soft strains of music filled the space as Conrart and Yuuri entered the banquet area of the main deck. Yuuri's fingers were laced through his lover's, giving them a warm little squeeze and his head tipped back to offer the man a playful smile, reminding Conrart of what they had been doing little more than an hour before.<p>

Everyone of the humans was in their finery, half dancing out across the deck in a slow waltz the other half standing within the better lit area eating from the morsels of food being served. However that was not which caught Yuuri's attention, his eyes dropped down towards the floor, almost tripping himself up on the bones and slick nameless things that he didn't even want to identify. Only Conrart's hand under his elbow steadied him and prevented him from ending up sprawled on the floor in an embarrassing heap.

"Is this a normal human custom?" His eyes dropped to the mess across the wide wooden decking.

"Appears so." Conrart shifted in just a little closer, just about to curl an arm around Yuuri's slender waist when...

A odd feminine 'cry' of interest came from behind both of them, the two men turning to watch as a woman approached them, her ample bosom bouncing as she rushed towards them. Bright blue eyes were landing right on Yuuri, intent and focused. There was a sound of... _recognition_ from Conrart, his hand just about to reach out towards Yuuri when the woman arrived before them.

"What a cutie! I could eat you up." Her large rather masculine hands rose to curl beneath her chin, her face dropping the few inches to meet Yuuri's stunned one.

Yuuri's eyes widened with sudden understanding that this wasn't a woman at all, not when those hands twitched slightly close to his face. The calluses that ran across them instantly giving away that this was not only a man but one who frequently used a sword. Backing up a step, his back thumped hard against Conrart's chest, the man's hand dropping to his waist to steady him. Yet, there was only surprise in Conrart's responses, not alarm or tension that he expected.

"Hi." He responded, feeling extremely awkward. "You have... an impressive set of biceps." What else did one say to a man dressed as a woman... who...

"Thanks, I work out." The feminine tone dropped and it was definitely a male's voice right then, deep and rumbling. "Say, want to dance? I'm hot to trot."

"Hey you! You're not playing fair."

A half dozen women stood barely a few feet away, their gazes intent on the 'woman' who had come up to Yuuri and Conrart. Each of them were decked out in more makeup and jewellery than the last.

"I saw him first, come to mama, Sweetie."

"He's the man of my dreams, it must be my destiny."

And as one, they rushed forwards, with a cry of 'Dance with me!'.

However, before any could touch him, Conrart had spun him neatly, powerful frame being placed between the women and Yuuri, his jaw tense and cinnamon eyes sparking with tiny stars of silver. Every woman stopped in their tracks at the sight of the broad shoulders man, many of them actually giving him a second glance this time, aware of the fact that his clothing was actually finer than they first suspected. However, the fact that Conrart's hand itched to rest against the hilt of his sword was a dead give-away that more was between the two men than just friendship.

"One finger on him and..."

Yuuri's cheeks flushed, his body pressed protectively against Conrart's back, one hand still lightly resting around his own. His cheek pressed against one broad shoulder, thrilled by the possessiveness that his lover just showed towards him.

A chuckle escaped a rather familiar gentleman who approached the pair who were surrounded by women who looked ready to tear Conrart apart for daring to get between them and their prey. "It seems you are quite popular there, young Merchant, though I must commend your fiancé for his protectiveness."

Neither noticed the shock that spread across the 'woman's' face to one side of them, vivid blue eyes staring at Conrart in utter disbelief before the reaction was hurriedly hidden.

"Mr Heathcrife." Yuuri brightened at the sight of the familiar man, offering him a warm smile as he turned slightly, cheeks flushing. "I..."

"If you wouldn't mind, would you consider dancing with my daughter, Beatrice? She's feeling a little out of place."

Instantly, Yuuri's head turned towards where the small blonde little girl was sitting on one of the seats against the wall, her pretty blue eyes downcast, legs swinging little beneath her.

"Conrart?" Yuuri tipped his head up, obsidian meeting cinnamon before glancing back towards the little girl.

"Go, Beautiful." Dipping his head, he caught Yuuri's mouth in a heart stopping kiss that almost left Yuuri swaying with the heat of it. "But save me a dance as well. I will deal with this... crowd."

Flashing his lover a brilliant smile, he was hurrying away towards where the little girl sat, leaving behind Conrart and the crowd of women and one transvestite.

* * *

><p>Conrart stood off to one side, gazing out into the darkness to watch Yuuri dance with the young human girl, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, a contented sound escaping him. Yuuri was surprisingly adept at dancing, gazing warmly down at the girl and guiding her in a far more energetic version of the waltz then what was going on around him, making Beatrice laugh in delight.<p>

"_Fiancé_?" The 'woman' stood beside Conrart, blue eyes narrowing ever so slightly on the relaxed and clearly enraptured man. "Tell me that it's just a cover. Tell me that he is not who I think he is and that you're not..."

One brow arched sharply, silencing any more questions that came from the cross-dressing soldier.

"No. You can't be serious. You are not this foolish."

"I love him." Conrart Weller said the words with such surety that no one could doubt just how much the half-breed adored and loved his fiancé.

"You loved _Julia_ and look what happened with that." Yozak's intense blue eyes burned into Conrart's, pinning the man to the spot and scowling. "It almost killed you when she died. That _kid_ will be nothing but trouble, you hear me on this."

"What I felt for Julia... and what I feel for Yuuri are two different things. Julia was... a dream. Yuuri is..."

"A trigger for you. He is more than likely just like our last ruler, ineffectual and willing to be swayed by any little thing. The troops and..."

There was a sharp clink of metal and against metal. Conrart's hand gripping the hilt of his sword which trembled in his grip, emotions flickering across his face as he gazed into Yozak's, jaw clenching sharply. "Yuuri is not like that." Not his Yuuri, he had seen with his own eyes what Yuuri had been willing to do for one of their own soldiers, the fact that Yuuri had changed even Gwendal's mind when it came to him.

"We'll see." Yozak stepped in close to Conrart, running one hand down across the sleeve of Conrart's shirt, lingering there for a moment. "What do you truly know about him, Conrart?" And with that the 'woman' turned away and faded off into the crowd, returning to observing what was happening around them and protecting both the King and his long time friend.

* * *

><p>A pillow thumped Yuuri Shibuya squarely in the face as he opened the door to Wolfram's room, the King managed however to hold the dish at arm's length out to the side, preventing the pillow from landing on the food he had picked up in one of the rooms to bring to Wolfram whom had remained in his room. Blinking slightly, he lifted both eyebrows at the flushed face of his fiancé's younger brother.<p>

"You... you...!" Wolfram huffed out a breath, cheeks burning a bright red and his gaze drifted to the floor. "How could you?"

"Do what?"

"You both..." The blonde went even more crimson, green eyes blinking slightly. "...Were so _loud_. It was obscene, all that... grunting."

"Grunting?" Yuuri's lips twitched, eyes sparkling with amusement at the way Wolfram looked ready to burst into flames his face looked so flushed and hot. "Moaning yes, groaning maybe... screaming _definitely_. I don't think either of us grunted though."

"YOU!"

Thump!

A second pillow hit Yuuri squarely into the face, dropping to the floor to join the first, though Yuuri was laughing at that one, his entire face lit up at the fact that Wolfram didn't seem too feel resentment towards him this time. "I did bring you dinner." The plate was lifted upwards, none of its contents thankfully disturbed by the fact that he had been assaulted by pillows.

Suddenly the entire ship shook suddenly beneath them, the plate clattering to the floor as Yuuri dropped it and reached out to grip the doorframe to his right, preventing himself from ending up on the floor. Items that weren't locked down slipped across the smoothly polished wood surfaces, a china set slid along the nearest counter top and crashed to the floor, sending shards of ceramic flying across the carpet.

"What was that?" Wolfram was half sprawled against his bed, eyes a touch widened as he glanced around.

"I don't quite know." Yuuri's head tipped back, but he was already reaching for his sword, something in his gut telling him that this was not just a normal crash against rocks or something else. "But I suspect it's not an iceberg."

Sounds of panic had erupted throughout the decks above them, the King however was out the door and down the corridor before Wolfram could call him back. He was already drawing his blade from its sheath, his eyes scanning every face that he past, not caring what he had to get through to find his Conrart. Yuuri Shibuya was no coward and he was not about to hide himself away when he could help defend this ship.

The first pirate that crossed his way charged him the moment he saw the sword in Yuuri's hand, turning his attention away from the two women he had been pursuing, their clothing ripped their faces bruised from the man's grasping hands. However, Yuuri was already swinging his blade upwards, catching the man's own bloodied one and twisting midstride to bring his own under the man's defences. The tip sliced through the man's flesh. Sending the man teetering forwards, sagging to the floor as the life flickered once in those eyes before fading. It was his first kill. Guilt settled like a heavy lump in his chest, a weight that he knew would never go away after this moment...

But at the sight of the relief in the eyes of the two women as they scrambled away and into one of the cabins to relative safety he knew there had been no other choice. Sometimes... there were no other choices except the darker one.

Yuuri was heading upwards, following the desperate tug that closed around his heart. _Conrart_. He knew where his lover was, felt the man's presence like a warmth coiled within himself. Several more pirates fell to both his blade and that of Wolfram Von Bielefeld who was only one step behind him.

However, he ducked back into the shelter of the corridor the moment he spotted the two dozen pirates on the main deck, his eyes searching the deck for any sign of his lover. Yuuri's hand caught the back of Wolfram's uniform, yanking him backwards and against the wall beside him before he decided to charge out there. His hand releasing the man's shirt and covering the blonde's mouth, knowing that they needed to wait until the right moment to strike.

Tickles of magic flickered up along through Yuuri's veins, hot and tingling. The slow rock of the ship making him aware of how much water surrounded him, how much seethed and roiled with such _energy_. It was like a seductive whisper and promise, but not one Yuuri reached for, his fingers curled even more tightly around his sword. His magic was still uncontrollable and wild. The last thing he needed to do was unleash it here.

"We need to time this right, Wolfram."

It was that moment he spotted Conrart, the powerful half-breed on his knees before the pirate Captain, a sword pressed against the side of his neck, droplets of blood seeping from the wound. Conrart's sword lay on the deck only several feet away from him near the bodies of several dead pirates that his lover had apparently taken on in defence of the ship. Clearly the woman held at knife point to one side was the reason Conrart had given up his blade, his beloved would never endanger the life of an innocent.

"Don't fret about your children, these whelps will gain us a high price on the slave market!" The leader of the Pirates was dressed in the oddest uniform he had ever seen, strangely resembling a version of a Japanese sailor uniform for girls, blonde hair stuck out at odd angles from his head. "Hey you over there, get a move on, fill my purse, time's a-wasting."

Conrart's eyes blazed with hatred, his jaw tense, but his head turned slightly, gaze flickering about his surroundings before stopping suddenly. A flicker of relief ran across his downturned face, before he fought against the rope bonds that held the man's wrists in place behind his back.

"I see far too many male passengers on this ship. I don't like the way any of them look. Get rid of them all! Do it now! I want this ship burned down."

Suddenly one of the men who had been kneeling with the rest of the men rose upwards onto his feet, his voice echoing across the decking. "No, I don't want to die. Can't we pay you...?"

"Shut your hole!" One of the pirates snarled, the back of his sword coming down heavily on the nape of the man's neck, knocking him out and sending him collapsing with a heavy thud to the floor.

There was a sudden cry and Yuuri's heart lurched with recognition of that voice.

"That belongs to me now. Give it up!"

One of the pirates hand his fist curled around one of Beatrice's pigtails, yanking so hard on it that the little girl's face was streaked with tears.

"Let me go...!"

"Beatrice!" Heathcrife was standing up, his terror for his daughter and rage at what was happening colouring his features.

Those tingles were now waves crashing over him, the magic responding to the deep anger that surged upwards through him at the sight of his friends being abused like that. And _Conrart_. His eyes returned to his lover, seeing a sword lifting upwards, readying to strike the man's head from his shoulders...

_No_. The single word echoed through his soul like a whip crack of thunder. No one had the right to ever harm his Conrart and they had already drawn his blood.

"PAPA!"

A desperate cry of a parent for his only child filled the air.

Everything within Yuuri snapped. His sword was slipped back into his belt as he stepped out from where he had been in the corridor, magic flaring in a brilliant wash around his body, uncoiling from within him. The impurities that had hidden what he was were washed away in that moment, the rich black mane soon framing his face as obsidian eyes narrowed, the pupils twisting into cat-like slits as he became what he truly was.

The entire ship shook violently as the sea beneath them actually responded to the Demon King's call. A sea serpent suddenly slammed into the man standing over Conrart, jaws closing around the man's throat and twisting around him, sending him sprawling to the ground, its watery body coiling tightly.

_"You__ dared__ to__ touch__ what__ is__ mine?"_The low menace in that tone sent a shiver through every person onboard but Conrart, who was staggering to his feet, going after the man who held the young woman hostage within his grasp. _"You__ dare __harm __those __I__ would __call __friend?"_

"Get up lads! Get this monster!" A hand gestured towards Yuuri, just as a dozen more sea serpents launched themselves over the railings of the ship, slamming bodily into the pirates, wrapping around their bodies and sending them sprawling onto the wood at the feet of the Demon King.

Two wrapped around the man who had held Beatrice, sending him tumbling backwards and over the rail into the sea. Everyone that stood between Heathcrife and Beatrice was sent scattering by the angry hisses of water-born demons, before they retreated, allowing father and daughter to be reunited.

_"You will regret your impertinence." _

A massive serpent uncoiled itself from beneath the bow of the boat, its shriek of anger filling night air and sending everyone to their knees, covering their ears at the piercing sound. The Captain of the pirates staggered backwards, just as the first coils of water wrapped around his body, lifting him bodily off the deck holding him in place as he squirmed and fought desperately to be free. The beast always ringed Conrart in one protective coil, preventing any from getting near the half-blood, willing to tear any to shreds if they harmed the one man who meant everything to Yuuri.

"He's the devil!"

_"The __devil? __Perhaps__ you__ should __take__ another__ look__ at __your __own __reflection."_Yuuri stood before the massive serpent's body, one hand lightly caressing the creature, gazing up at the Captain with fury blazing in the depths of his eyes. _"You __will__ answer __for__ your __crimes."_

Suddenly a siren was wailing nearby, a light flaring over the decking and people scrambling against the railings of the vessel away from the creatures that surged on the deck, angry and hissing. A Cimaron warship was pulling alongside...

Yuuri's magic flared wildly, the deep song of the ocean filling his head, drowning out his own thoughts as he staggered. Just as the two ships locked together and the crew of the Cimaron vessel caught sight of the watery monsters that held the pirates in check away from the passengers, the serpents disintegrated in a sudden rushing pop. Water splashing across the wooden decking and dropping the now unconscious captain of the pirates bodily down onto the wood.

Conrart leapt forwards just in time to be able to capture his lover in his arms, wrapping them tightly around the warm body and holding him close as Yuuri dropped limply into his grasp. The dark head was cradled against his shoulder as the ship was boarded.

* * *

><p><strong>Cimaron Patrol Ship, Vanguard, Cimaron Waters<strong>

Awareness was slow to return to Yuuri, his eyes slowly beginning to open, his head slowly beginning to lift from where it was pressed into the curve of Conrart's throat. A soft moan escaped him, his face burying itself back into his lover's warmth, feeling the strong arms coiling protectively around him while he rose into full consciousness. Soft lips touched against the top of his head, lingering against his temple lightly.

"Are you awake?" Conrart asked gently, fingertips stroking along Yuuri's spine soothing him.

"Where are we...? What... happened after I blanked out...?" Groaning as his body twitched and he shifted in his lover's lap.

"The passengers from the liner are safe and right now all of us are on a Cimaron patrol boat." Conrart was shifting Yuuri in his arms, just glad that no one had dared to take the man from his grasp. He hadn't been willing to let him go for a moment, concerned about the fact that he was still unconscious after the 'battle'. Both Conrart and Wolfram had been stunned by the fact that not only had Yuuri used his magic, but it had been stable enough to answer his commands so easily. However, Conrart knew just what toll such a thing took on his lover, the strain in placed on a body so unused to conducting so much raw magic. "Your magic, Yuuri..."

"I know..." He breathed out softly, shaking his head and pressing his face against the warmth of Conrart's shoulder again, just wanting to stay there, his body still so weak and tired from the strain he had placed on it again. "I can't control it as well as I wished I could... it answers me when I need it... but... it's dangerous..."

"It was like a nightmare." Wolfram whispered, remembering well his own confrontation with those same water dragons, knowing just how much power was coiled in those liquid forms.

"The Cimaron patrol also caught the rest of the pirates and put us in this lovely jail cell, you've been asleep for only a day..."

"It was shorter this time." It had taken him a full two days to recover enough strength to be able to move around on his own after the first time he had used it against Wolfram. "I hope it will get better... but I will need training... When we get back..."

"I bet Ulrike would know what to do." The blonde boy added softly, looking almost thoughtful as he sat propped up beside his half-brother in the uncomfortable cell that they had been placed in.

Before either man could respond there was a rattle from the small door, a heavy thunk of a latch being pulled free from where it had been placed across the locked door. It opened with a clank and squeak of unoiled hinges and there in the doorway stood the male version of the woman who had pounced Yuuri earlier on the passenger liner.

"Ta-dah!" Yozak stood there, weapons tucked under his arm and gazed in at them with a grin. "I've come to break you out of the joint, your Majesty. So come on, let's go."

"Who are you?" Though his expression showed that he did recognise the man. "It was a nice dress you wore." He mused.

"So you do remember me, Majesty, I'm glad you liked my business attire, shame I couldn't find something suitable for this place."

"This is Gurrier Yozak. He's followed us since the last port to act as a guard in case of an emergency." Something that Gwendal had clearly not told Conrart knowing that there was definitely going to be some bumping of heads between the two men and Conrart's new position.

"Let's make our escape before someone notices the missing weapons."

* * *

><p>Yuuri sat down in the boat, his head tipped back to regard his lover as he paid off one of the deck hands, Conrart speaking softly to the man whom nodded slightly in reassurance. Soon enough all four men were in the boat and it was moving away from the Cimaron vessel, all of them rowing together, enough though, Conrart sent him worried glances.<p>

The King only smiled back at his lover softly in reassurance, continuing to row in time with the others. "I hope that we are fortunate enough that that deck hand doesn't decide to alert the crew to our escape."

"I think he is greedy, but he does not seem the time to go back on his word." Conrart responded.

The soldier's eyes could pick out the lights that glittered from the distant shore of Vandavia Island. Hopefully things would go well for them all when they finally did make it to the island. His gaze flickered towards Yozak, catching the glint of concern and other emotions drift through the man's vivid blue eyes before he was turning back towards the ship and rowing a little harder.

All they had was hope that they weren't betrayed on this journey.

* * *

><p><strong>Do you know what? It was always a shame that Yuuri, Conrart, Wolfram and Yozak couldn't attend the Fire Festival in the anime. I think its about time they could XD What do you think?<strong>


	6. Part 6: The Hard Road We Have Taken

**Author's Note: This chapter contains a few little surprises along the way. I won't spoil them, but I bet you'll like it!**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing! **

**Dedicated to all you who love this series as much as I do. XD **

* * *

><p><strong>Mountain Road, Vandavia Island, Cimaron Territories<strong>

_"If you fall in love with an island girl, _

_Mount Vandavia will erupt. _

_You may not be able to cross the ocean together, _

_But you'll see the same moon up high. _

_Ah, this is, _

_Van, Van, Vandavia,_

_Island of dreams. _

_Come once and you'll never forget us."_

Yuuri leaned against Conrart's side, his head drooping slightly as he heaved in a soft breath, fatigue weighing heavily on him. They had been moving since the night before, the exertions wearing both himself and Wolfram out. "I'm sorry." He whispered softly, feeling Conrart's arm slide around his waist, drawing him in closer and helping him continue forwards. "I'm causing all this trouble... I should be stronger than this..."

"You aren't any trouble." Conrart responded gently, dropping a soft kiss against Yuuri's temple. "Just a little longer."

"Yo, fellas!" Yozak appeared around the curve in the road, one hand pointing back to the way he had just come. "I found a rest stop over here!"

"I like him." Yuuri mused slightly as they were walking along the road and towards the large isolated hotel that sat in the middle of a wide lush clearing. "For all his quirks, there is something in him I very much respect." Though his head tipped back, gazing into Conrart's eyes for one long moment. "I have a feeling there is quite a story between the two of you."

"I promise I will tell you it, but now I don't think would be the time."

* * *

><p><strong>Mountain Meadow Inn, Vandavia Island, Cimaron Territories<strong>

"This is good." Yuuri scooted just a little closer to Conrart, his shoulder resting against his fiancé's just like that first night that they had sat together by the fire eating a shared meal with the troops. "Though I think Wolfram looks how I feel." A touch of amusement tinged his expression, gazing at the young blond Demon who was leaning against the edge of the table, chin against the wood, looking ready to pass out.

"Excuse me." An accented voice came from behind them, Yuuri lifting his head slightly from where it had dropped onto his lover's shoulder to regard the young woman who had come out to talk to them. "I don't mean to be presumptuous and I really do hate to bother you all, but..."

"Yes, what is it?" Conrart prompted gently, setting down his tea cup before him, chin tipping to the side to study her face intently for a moment.

A slight flush ran across her nose and cheeks, blue eyes gazing over them with gentle interest. "I'm sure, ya'all, already know this, but just in case you don't. You won't be able to see the shrine for the festival here, its set up on the neighbouring mountain over yonder."

"A festival?" Wolfram asked.

That caught Yuuri's interest, his lips turning upwards into a small smile, though he said nothing about it.

"Of course."

"We will be attending tonight, if you all would like." The soldier responded, his fingertips lightly brushing against Yuuri's cheek softly, feathering across the pallid skin. "We came to see the spring at the top of this mountain first."

The tray in the girl's hands suddenly dropped from them, clattering heavily to the ground. Her hands clasped together, worry glinting in her blue eyes, though she unconsciously stepped back ever so slightly. "You can't be serious. Something strange happened there about fifteen years ago on a quite summer's night. A mysterious red fireball streaked down from the sky and plummeted into the spring. It made the water boil for three days and nights."

"Maybe it was a meteorite." Yuuri responded, though he was only attempting to cover up their interest in the sword that was rumoured to now be at the bottom of that very spring.

"No, no. It was a demonic object."

"Demonic?" Yuuri gave the impression of surprise, though his eyes flickered towards Yozak, releasing the man was watching him intently.

"That's right, the spring hasn't been the same ever since. If you touch the water you get a big shock. It can stop your heart or give you third degree burns. I'm just positive that it was cursed by the demonic object." Her hands clenched a little more tightly together, white knuckled as she glanced away. "Nobody, I mean, nobody has bathed in that demon spring every since. And get this, one time a brave man from the village swam down deep enough to take a look at the object."

"What did he see?"

"Actually he was barely alive when they dragged him out of the water. All he said was 'it's face, its face!'"

Now that left all four men wondering exactly what 'face' could have been referred to by the man when it came to the sword, Morgif.

* * *

><p><strong>Mountain Road, Vandavia Island, Cimaron Territories<strong>

"Your Majesty, if you can obtain that sword the Great Demon Kingdom will grow more powerful and all those other lesser countries will be forced to bow down to you our Demon King." Yozak walked ahead of Yuuri and Conrart, his voice drifting back over them, confident and assured. "Long live our Demon King! But of course that rosy scenario will only take place if you can even hold the sword."

The ground seemed to grow warmer beneath their boots, tiny hisses of steam seeped out of the rocks by their boots, curling up into the air in tiny white bursts.

"Yozak!" Conrart almost growled out his friend's name, watching the expression change on Yuuri's face slowly, the man's posture changing the closer they got to the spring and the more Yozak talked.

"I'm only speaking the truth. Due to the curse dozens of men have already suffered trying to retrieve the demon sword. There is no guarantee that this kid won't suffer the same dark fate."

"Yozak, that is enough."

"Well, there's no need to worry. If you fail, we'll simply fish your battered body out of the water with a rope and haul you home on a boat." Yozak had turned around to face them, expression showing his anger, the resentment that seemed to boil just beneath the surface.

"Watch your tongue when addressing his Majesty."

"Despite everything, I am loyal to my country and I must obey you no matter how ridiculous your orders." Yozak's hands clenched at his sides, taking a step forwards towards Yuuri. "If your anything like the last Maou, the troops and I must be resigned for the worst. In other words to prepare ourselves to needlessly die in a war without protest." Yozak's blue eyes turned towards Conrart, confronting his friend again, unable to believe quite what he had seen between the two men. "How many men have you lost? How many good friends have been taken from you?"

"Conrart, no." Yuuri stepped before his lover, one hand reaching out to lightly rest against the hand that had curled around the hilt of his sword, feeling the slight tremble of restraint in those fingers. "His concerns have merit. I want my people to know I am willing to hear them out whatever their concerns might be."

The amber haired half-breed stood there for a long moment, before finally meeting the obsidian gaze that met his squarely without flinching.

"I am not here to bring back the sword to be a weapon." His chin lifted sharply, finding strength in his own convictions. "I want only to return the sword to the Great Demon Kingdom so it can do no more harm to those near it. It is far too dangerous for it to remain lost any longer as evidenced by the fact that so many men have been hurt. I will try as many times as necessary in order to retrieve the sword, Morgif. It cannot stay here."

"All fine words, but what proof do we have that..."

"I would never ask anyone to do something that I was not willing to do myself." His jaw clenched, eyes closing as guilt surged within him as he remembered the blood that now stained his hands and the fact that he knew it had been necessary to protect those who could not protect themselves. "I killed for the first time on that ship, Yozak. I feel the weight of that tearing at my soul, even though I know I was protecting innocents... I cannot help but regret taking their lives."

Taking a deep breath, he felt Conrart's fingers spread across the small of his back, offering him strength in that one single gesture that almost made Yuuri want to sink into the tears that filled his soul at the deaths on that ship. "I'm afraid, Gurrier Yozak. I admit openly to you that I am afraid that I will not be able to be the King the Great Demon King needs. However, I will try my darnedest to succeed. I'm afraid of what I'm capable of. My magic is unstable and at times almost beyond my control." Obsidian bored into blue, holding that man hostage for one long moment. "I need people I can trust to tell me when I've stepped over that edge... to stop me if they need to, to protect the innocent even if it means my life."

"Yuuri." Conrart's voice was a rasp of agony, the man's hands trembling as they brushed against his lover's shoulders from behind, wanting to pull the younger man into his arms and never let him go. "Love..."

"My decision to become King is not based on my desire to do the duties set out before me by others. I decided that I would become Demon King because I wanted to create a world that Conrart could live, in which people like him, like you... and like _me_ can live without fear or pain." With a sigh, Yuuri rubbed his fingers across his face, shoulders slumping a little and all the strength within him fled in one quick rush, leaving him leaning back against his lover. "If you cannot believe my words, Yozak, let my actions speak for me. I ask only for you to give me a chance to prove myself to you before you judge me."

Arms wrapped tightly around him, almost squeezing the air right out of his lungs at the intensity of the embrace. A mouth touched against the side of Yuuri's neck, ragged flutters of breath sliding across his skin hotly. "You... came back for me."

The younger man flushed ever so slightly, realising exactly what he had admitted to in front of both me. His hand reached up to smooth down against Conrart's lightly stubbled cheek, thumb rubbing at his lips lightly and turning just enough to kiss him softly. "I'll always come back to you. No matter what happens, I will always fight to be at your side."

Yozak stared for one long moment at them, shocked at the sight of the two men pressed together so intimately, the obvious love the two felt for each other visible to even him. "Time will tell then, Sire." Yozak nodded once, unable to help the slight lump that formed in his throat knowing that he had lost something to Yuuri that could never be retrieved.

The three continued on soundlessly, heading up the path, but no longer talking about anything, the silence and Yuuri's words hanging between them all.

A boat actually sat on the shore of the surprisingly large spring, all three men easily slipping into the wooden craft, Yozak pushing them off away from the shore. Yozak paddled them slowly into the mouth of the cave that yawned wide before them, ominous and dark the afternoon light still streaming into it enough for them to see the damp water slick walls and high arching ceiling.

The light from the single lantern that Conrart held diffused out into the banks of steam that rolled over them, seeping into their clothes and clinging damply to their skin.

"It's hot in here. This water's generating a lot of hot steam."

Yozak pushed the board he used as an oar into the water and jerked it back, hissing in pain droplets of steaming water slowly slide down from where it lay on his reddening skin.

"How hot is it?"

"Yuuri, be careful."

His hand slipped into the water, surprised by the fact that the heat wasn't unbearable at all and almost left his fingertips tingling. "It's actually quite nice." Both raven brows lifted in amusement, his head tipping to regard his companions for a long moment before withdrawing his hand from the water.

"You didn't feel any pain?"

Shaking his head, he suddenly winced when several droplets of water dripped off his fingers and down onto his pants leg. Biting back the sound that wanted to escape, he remained still, aware of the fact that while his fingers had not be scolded, Yozak's hand was swelling rather badly. "It didn't hurt when it touched my hand, but when it dripped..." Yuuri's dry hand however reached out towards Yozak's swollen one.

"Mine is swelling."

"Here." Yuuri whispered softly, palm curling over the burning hot flesh, feeling Yozak wince at the pressure until Yuuri reached out with his magic. Sensing the water within the man's body, he was cooling it, focusing what he could on healing the injury as he had done for Conrart the night before. He hadn't known he had been able to do it until he had touched the cut that ran across the side of Conrart's neck from the sword blade and felt his magic respond to the need of another.

The half-demon stared at his now only slightly pink flesh of his hand when Yuuri's own released it, his lips parting to say something but just glanced back up at Yuuri in shock. He had not expected magic to be wasted on him like that, but saw in those obsidian eyes an offer of friendship, a hope that in time they would no longer be at odds. "Thanks."

"It could mean this spring is quite acidic or even extremely caustic."

"Those who touch it clearly suffer more than just a scolding, both of you were only splashed a little and the damage was..." His gaze dropped to Yozak's hand, before offering a smile to Yuuri for his thoughtfulness. "This has to be the work of the Demon sword, Morgif."

"I guess... my skin is good, my clothes won't do me any good though." Wincing slightly at that, his gaze flickered to Yozak and then back towards his lover, shrugging slightly and decided he would have to strip down to do this despite the reaction it might get out of the men.

The boat continued to slide smoothly through the water, the oppressive darkness of the cave beginning to lighten as a large slit in the ceiling of the cave and spilled light down across the shimmering surface of the spring. There in the centre of a large open space glittered something beneath the surface.

"I see something shiny." Yozak gestured towards the flash of gold reflected up from the bottom of the spring.

The boat pulled to a stop, Yuuri shifting to stand so that he could get at his boots. "Yozak... do you mind...?" A tiny flush ran along Yuuri's cheeks before he glanced away from the other man.

"Sure. I have a feeling if I didn't, my eyes might be plucked out..."

A low warning growl escaped Conrart at Yozak's words, the man's eyes fixed on his lover, heat slowly beginning to sear through the soldier as sword belt clunked against the bottom of the boat before jacket, shirt and pants were soon following. Cinnamon eyes however had dropped lower, focusing on the fact that Yuuri was quickly becoming quite aroused by the fact that he was the centre of Conrart's intense interest right at that moment.

"Save those thoughts, Lover." Yuuri grinned at Conrart, stepping lightly forwards and resting both palms against his lover's shoulders, mouth finding the hot one. Fingers laced into the back of his hair, holding him there for a long blistering moment. It felt like he had been seared far deeper by that kiss than by the hot water. "We'll explore them later."

Yozak however couldn't help but look, staring for one moment at the muscular but lean frame of their King, his gaze stopping however at the man's back. Bruises still darkened places across his skin, still not completely faded over the last few days. Scars also dotted the pale while of his flesh, running back and forth, though mostly faded. It revealed that Yuuri Shibuya wasn't some wimpy untouchable person from the other world, but someone who had faced darkness and still was able to see the light in things.

Amusement crossed Yuuri's features as he moved to the bow of the boat, feeling calloused palms stroke against his hips, steadying him for a moment as he shifted up onto the edge. One easy movement and he was jumping into the water, feeling the hot rush slide up over his skin and wanted to practically groan in bliss as he surfaced. Dark hair was plastered to his cheeks and shoulders, he turned slightly to look back at Conrart and Yozak with a smile. "Feels like the bath back at Covenant Castle."

Straightening, it barely reached his chest, his fingers rubbed through his hair, smoothing it back away from his eyes. Moving towards where he could see the shimmering outline of the sword, he paused, attempting to make out where the hilt was. It could reach it without submerging his head. "Should be able to reach..." His hand reached out for it and just as his fingers brushed against the hilt of it, something closed around his finger and bit down hard, making him jerk back from it with a start and a slight yelp.

"Yuuri!"

"I'm okay." Shaking his finger lightly, he rubbed at the redness that now ran around the first joint of it with his thumb. Though he frowned down at the sword beneath the water. "It bit me."

"It bit you?"

"Yeah, don't ask me how... but the sword _bit_ me." Sighing, he frowned down at the shimmering outline of Morgif, rolling his eyes at it. "You know you could be a little nicer." And he reached down again, leaning in and this time his fingers curled around the hilt of Morgif, it came easily out of the water. The moment it came above the surface, a low 'moan' escaped it, the odd skeletal face on the hilt's lips parted and it emitted another low groan. "So you did bite me." Good humour filled Yuuri's expression as he headed towards the boat, Morgif continuing to groan in his hands.

Yozak gazed down at the sword that he set in the bottom of the boat, startled by the fact that Yuuri had actually gotten it. Morgif continued to groan softly, a sound that almost made Yuuri laugh.

"Stop your protesting, Morgif, I think fifteen years is long enough for a bath."

The Sword grinned, large lips forming into a rather amusing smile that did have Yuuri laughing in response, his hands resting on the edge of the boat, both Conrart and Yozak gripped them and pulled him up and into the vessel so that it wouldn't rock too badly. A towel that Conrart had been carrying before was coiled around his body, his body being drawn back against Conrart's chest, sitting between his knees. Large hands rubbed over the softness of the towel, helping to dry him off, a kiss brushed across his hair softly.

"Definitely far easier than I thought this was going to be."

"You did well, your Majesty." Yozak admitted softly, before offering the first genuine smile he had felt towards Yuuri since they had met, admitting that this King was no weakling and was someone committed to everything that he did.

* * *

><p><strong>Van, Vandavia Island, Cimaron Territories<strong>

Delight radiated from every inch of Yuuri's face as he spun around, his head tipped back while he took in his surroundings. Every street was lit by brightly coloured lanterns, some of which were done in stained glass so that as the flames within dipped and hissed, images spread out over the walls and street beneath them. The tiny figures dancing with the movement, entrancing several children who chased the pictures about. Music and the sweet scents of food and wine adding to the vibrant atmosphere of the Fire Festival.

"It's like the festivals in Japan." Yuuri leaned against Conrart's arm, his fingers curling lightly into the fabric of his sleeve. "Thank you." He breathed out, leaning upwards to press a kiss against the underside of his fiancé's jaw. "I know it would have probably have been safer if we remained at the Inn... but..." He had to admit it felt good to be just himself again, no one was calling him 'your highness' or 'sire'. "You knew exactly what I needed."

Yozak had remained behind to guard Morgif and also to watch over the exhausted Wolfram. The young noble had almost fallen off his horse several times as they headed down to the main settlement on the island, Van. For now, it was just them. Just Conrart and Yuuri. No titles, no duties, no constraints.

Thousands of different people filled the streets and surrounding forests, stalls of every type and description also filling all the spaces between. They had earlier booked passage on one of the ships back to Isvangard after the Festival and then would be able to transfer to a ship heading to the Great Demon Kingdom from there. They had what they had come for.

"Am I allowed to say I just wanted you to myself tonight?" Conrart spun Yuuri into his arms, hands resting lightly on those slender hips while his head descended, his mouth finding that willing one. "No eyes watching us." The words were breathed out against his lips before the soldier practically devoured Yuuri whole, their lips parting, tongues dancing together for a moment. It was scorching hot and making both shudder with the force of what lay between them. "I want... there are so many words I wish I could say... so many things..."

A fingertip lightly covered Conrart's lips, their eyes locking as what had been building between them over those last weeks were finally coming to a head. "I have a surprise for you."

"For me?"

A wicked little smile crossing Yuuri's lips as he curled one hand around Conrart's, drawing the man along with him into the crowds, heading towards where couples swirled around the open area set out for dancing. "I owe you a dance first."

"Yuuri... wait...!" A flush actually ran across the soldier's cheeks when he stumbled forwards, even his long legs having trouble keeping up with his lover's enthusiasm.

"Dance with me, Conrart!" Tugging on that captive hand, he spun the man, drawing him into a warm embrace just as a new song started.

"Yuuri... the crowd..." For once Conrart was aware of the fact that several sets of eyes were on them, probably considering they were the only same sex pair amongst the crowd. The last thing Conrart wanted was for Yuuri to force himself to do this before people... he knew how difficult it had been for his beloved Yuuri to admit to him that first time that he was homosexually inclined.

"I don't care." Yuuri lifted his chin, before flashing his lover a brilliant grin. "I'm with you." One hand laced through Conrart's own, before glancing around and shifting in closer to draw the half-breed's arm around his body. "Dance with me, my Prince." His voice was husky with desire when his body shifted in close against Conrart's, obsidian eyes glimmered with what had been left unspoken between them.

Letting out a surprisingly shaky breath, he drew Yuuri in against him, his body moving easily to the familiar human waltz, their bodies sliding slowly together in the close almost intimate movements of the song. The music was all that there was around them while he gazed down into the eyes that regarded him as if he were all there was in the world. His grip shifted, relaxing and he felt a smile coming to his lips, their bodies sweeping around amongst those the humans. Yuuri was graceful, easily relaxing and allowing Conrart to guide him in the swift steps of the waltz.

Spinning Yuuri, Conrart caught the King, lifting him easily in swift step, their bodies sliding deliciously together as he allowed his lover to slide down across his body, their hips and thighs brushing. Speeding up his steps, he spun Yuuri again, hearing the delighted laughter of his fiancé, which pierced him like the bolt of a crossbow right down to the heart. Obsidian eyes glittered in the warm light of the thousands of lanterns strung up around the dancing area, they gazed up at him with a light in them that he had never seen before. Hands brushed against his shoulders and arms, Yuuri finding the rhythm of Conrart's movements, helping to even lead into them.

The world spun away from them, reality seeming to drift by, faces and people no longer mattering as they touched, palm to palm, heart to heart.

Their noses brushing, a kiss remaining a whisper away as he drew them through the crowds and out into the muted light beyond the first stands of trees. Their dance slowed, Yuuri drawing Conrart to a stop. The King sobered, his gaze dark and infinite like a night sky. One hand dipped into a pocket and drew out something from within it, his other curled around one of Conrart's. They stood there together, a foot apart, the soft strains of music still filtering in through the surrounding trunks.

"Marry me."

Conrart jolted at the words, his eyes widening while he stared down into the serious dark eyes that regarded him with something more than just affection. "...Yuuri..."

"I'm not asking because of obligations or because of what happened back at Covenant Castle." His palm opened, revealing two matching rings sitting there, one larger than the other. "I'm asking because, Conrart Weller, I love you with everything in my heart." Heart in his eyes, he drew Conrart's palm to his mouth, pressing a kiss against the centre of it. "I realised on Earth when I was without you that I couldn't live without you. I was dead inside, half of a whole that had been split into two."

The man was staggered by those words, heart squeezing in his chest to hear them, to know that someone loved him that much.

"You know... I found a book in the Library at Covenant Castle on the history of Small and Big Cimaron... I also discovered in that book about a little law about special conditions under which one can marry legally without consulting the church officials." The ring in Yuuri's fingers was held up to the light, the tiny engravings that ran across the inner surface of the ring. "A pledge is all that is required."

And the rings were a type of physical pledge, one that did not occur in the Great Demon Kingdom, but were sometimes used in human lands but were everywhere on Earth.

"I stand before you not as a King, but as a man, one that loves you for everything that you are. Marry me, Conrart Weller."

"_**Yes**_." Conrart's free hand curled around the back of Yuuri's head and pulled him into a kiss that seared them with the knowledge that no other would ever do, that what they shared was all either had ever craved. "I love you, Yuuri. I am yours, I have always been yours. My soul, my heart, my body. Everything that I am belongs to you."

"I vow my heart, I vow my soul, I vow my love.

I give myself to you willingly and without reserve.

I shall be the shield that guards you, the sword that protects.

Let all know that my name is yours.

Let all who see this pledge know of our unity in all things."

Yuuri swallowed hard, grateful that Conrart had not been able to read one of the books that Yuuri had packed on the trip on the passenger liner so that he wouldn't make a giant fool of himself. Before slipping the ring onto Conrart's finger, curling the man's hand down around it, before offering his own to Conrart. His lover repeated the action, large calloused fingers stroking slowly over the simple gold and silver band that rested now on Yuuri's ring finger.

Conrart's soft voice repeated the words, both their hearts racing wildly in that moment.

Reaching out, Yuuri laced his left hand through Conrart's left, their fingers lacing together, the rings glimmering in the warm glow of the lanterns. "My heart is yours." Squeezing that hand warmly, he felt himself being pulled forwards and into Conrart's strong arms, his face tucked against the warm throat, a palm smoothing against his dyed hair, cradling him there.

"Yuuri..." Conrart swallowed hard, his fingertips lightly resting against that warm head. "There are things... things I haven't told you... I wanted to tell you before..." His voice caught in his throat knowing that Yozak's words about Julia might just be repeated by someone else. He wanted Yuuri to know that the love he felt was not because of how he had felt for the beautiful woman who had filled a void in his life for so long. "You know I was the one tasked with taking your soul to Earth... what you don't know is that... the soul you carry once belonged to Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott. She was..."

Yuuri stilled, cheek resting lightly against one broad shoulder, his arms still looped around his new husband, giving him an encouraging squeeze.

"The war... the war that Stoffel started, my Uncle started in the name of my mother..." His voice cracked, body tensing as so many memories washed back through him, so much that clawed at his heart and made him hold onto Yuuri just a little more tightly in response. Yuuri was the anchor in the storm, the bright sun that warmed his chilled soul.

"Sit down with me." Yuuri drew Conrart away from the crowds, away from the voices and music.

Yuuri sat himself down, back against one of the trees, one hand lightly tugging Conrart down beside him and drew the man's head down into his lap. In doing so, allowing Conrart the chance to hide the first tears that slowly began to slide down his tawny cheeks. A violent shudder rocked the man, his entire body trembling with the force of what was inside him, trapped for far too long.

"No matter what, I'll be right here. I'll always be right here, Conrart." His free hand which hadn't been softly stroking over his lover's hair rested lightly on one broad shoulder soothingly. "I love you. I'll say it as often as you like. Nothing, Love, will ever change that fact."

"The pendant I have..." A hand lifting drew out the blue pendant he sometimes wore, something that he didn't quite know how to deal with given what had happened. "It was Julia's. She was... the light of our Kingdom... she was Adalbert's fiancé... and I... I loved her. I never told her... I never acted on how I felt towards her. When she died during the war after the battle at Lutenberg... I wanted to die too. She understood some of my pain, saw in me with her heart what you saw... I know now what I felt for her was friendship. It was nothing like this... nothing like how I feel for you. I don't love you because you have Julia's soul. I love you because you're Yuuri Shibuya."

"Yuuri Shibuya _Weller_." Yuuri corrected with a small grin, feeling Conrart start at that, of him accepting a human last name publically as his own.

"Julia died... because of me in a way..." Guilt burned in Conrart's eyes as they shut tightly, shifting just a little closer to Yuuri, though remaining faced away. "During the war, those of pure blood, like Lord Griesela Geigen Huber regarded those with half blood heritage as being traitors. Like Wolfram did before... Demon Pride is what my Father call it. Lord Geigen Huber brought his accusations to Stoffel who had my then forced my Mother clear off the throne. There was only one thing we could do, we had to prove our innocents. We knew we were going to our deaths, other half-breeds like me and humans who had sided with us."

"It was bloody and we lost so many that day. I almost died. Yozak was the one that carried me back to Covenant Castle, he saved my life. We scored a major victory against Big Cimaron. It was _enough_. Enough to ensure a ceasefire. Enough to end the killing. But Geigen Huber needed to outdo me... he... _he_..." Conrart's voice cracked, his entire body trembling with the force of his anger, with the soul deep fury that uncoiled at the tragedy which had befallen them all. "He was over-eager... and took action without planning... because of his orders a vulnerable city near the border suffered a surprise attack in retaliation... they were supposed to be outside of the fighting zone."

"Julia's unit... which included Gisela was sent there. The town was in ruins... so many dead... so many injured. Julia couldn't help but try to save them all... she was like that. Always giving. She pushed herself too far... and she died."

"I see." Yet, from out of all that tragedy they had found their own happiness. "As much as I wish I could change all that... change all which has happened... I can't."

"I... I wouldn't change it either." Conrart admitted softly, his fingers lifting to lace themselves through Yuuri's own, drawing them to his lips and just holding them there. "You... you are a gift to us, Yuuri. All the good you have already done... my Brothers..." Conrart's voice was a soft whisper of gratitude and relief. "I have my brothers back. Gwendal and Wolfram. He doesn't look at me... with hatred in his eyes... He called me... _brother_."

Tears continued to trickle down across their entwined fingers, Conrart finding relief, finding solace in what had been given to him. His anger... the anger that had burned so long within him over what had happened so long before began to ease. Flowing out of him drop by drop as he released it all, knowing that Yuuri was guarding over him, that he wasn't alone anymore. His heart which had been shattered by Julia's death lightened. The past couldn't be changed, but all the good from it could still be celebrated.

"I love you." Yuuri murmured softly again. Feeling the tension slide out of Conrart's body, the man's ragged breathing began to calm until his chest rose and fell slowly. Sleep had stolen the man away, his fingers still remaining curled lightly around Yuuri's, unwilling to let go... but he trusted in Yuuri to watch over both of them.

* * *

><p>"I hear there is going to be some rather interesting entertainment at the Colosseum." Yozak was downing a little more ale from the glass bottle in one hand, his head tipping to the side as regarded Conrart beside him and then the other two younger men with interest. However, his focus kept flickering back to Conrart, brows coming together even so slightly as he regarded a man he had known most of his life. There was something fundamentally different about his friend since the night before.<p>

Conrart's stride was lighter, his expression almost seemed brighter, his smile... no longer held the shadows of a lifetime of war and loss. There was a surety about him, as if he had truly found himself and his pride in what he was. It wasn't arrogance, just a... feeling of him being comfortable within his own skin.

"We have an hour... I don't see why not." Conrart remarked, a charming grin crept onto his lips. "I wouldn't mind seeing a good fight."

They were soon being pressed in closer by the throngs that were crowding in through the various entrance ways. Conrart drawing Yuuri in protectively against his body, his hand resting close to his sword, ready to combat any trouble that came their way as they moved. Everyone was plunged into darkness as they passed through a long tunnel, sounds bouncing off the high arch of the tunnel, when bright bursts of light flooded in from above, deafening them all for a moment.

Yuuri stumbled a little against Conrart, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding radiance. The world tilting slightly, while the crowds cheered on, making him think that this was probably exactly like what ancient Romans might have expected to see when they first entered the Colosseum in Rome. The sound and light overwhelming the senses, the anticipation of the crowds rising high into the air.

Magic tingled and almost seemed to bump up against Yuuri's body, the weight of Morgif resting across his back felt strange, the sword feeling almost warm against his shirt and jacket. The sword's soft 'groans' were smothered by the sheer volume of the people filling row upon row of seating.

A hand slipped beneath his elbow, guiding him down to a spot thankfully near the exit, allowing them to run at the slightest hint of trouble. All four of them were seated together, Yozak on one side of Yuuri, Conrart on the other.

"Conrart." His hand dropped to his lover's knee, fingers spreading out across the thick woollen fabric, squeezing slightly.

"What's troubling you?" Conrart's attention turned from the arena towards Yuuri, his eyes gazing down into his husband's face, his smile slowly melting away into a slight frown. "Yuuri?"

"Something's off." Shaking his head slightly, he wished he could pinpoint exactly what it was. Yet, the magic continued to nudge at him, tingling up through his arms, and through his nerves, making his breath catch in his throat. Maybe he was wrong. Sighing softly, he glanced back towards Wolfram and Yozak who were both clearly looking forwards to a little entertainment. A duel was always interesting to witness. Maybe he was just worrying too much. "I'm... probably wrong."

"We can head back outside if you like." Conrart offered.

"No... I know you want to watch the duels. I'm being selfish..." Flashing Conrart an awkward smile, he dipped his head, his attention turning from the arena and towards the faint sounds that came bouncing along the passageway to his right. "I think I'll wait outside for you guys." He was already on his feet, the disquieted feeling not willingly to release him, he stepped away from the seat, already heading towards the exit. "I need some air... it's a little too crowded for me."

Conrart was already beginning to rise behind him when Yozak reached out a hand to catch Conrart's wrist, drawing him back down to sit.

"Let the kid have some air. He'll be fine. Stay, Conrart." There was a note of something in Yozak's voice, a plea for something more, which was left unspoken.

Yuuri couldn't hear Conrart's reply as he headed back down the now empty tunnel, his footsteps echoing along its length, even though he tread softly. Morgif's soft groans continued just behind him, the sword finally falling blessedly silent as he finally reached the outside of the Colosseum, his back resting against the shadowed side of one of the wide arches that ran around the ground floor of the massive structure.

"Keep moving!" The words were harsh, the accent clipped. "I said KEEP MOVING!"

Yuuri's eyes widened as his head tipped to the side, catching a glimpse of Cimaron soldiers moving along the street just beyond where he was hiding. A line of prisoners ambled along between the guards, their wrists and ankles bound. Each man was bruised and beaten, some even looked unrecognisable their faces were so swollen, some where young boys barely older than Wolfram, yet not even they had been spared the brutality.

"Keep **moving**!"

The end of the long spear whipped around to crack hard over the back of the man's legs and back, almost knocking him forwards and to the ground, it was only the chains that were coiled through his bindings that kept him upright.

"I think some of these will make good sport in the arena." A gladiator stood off to one side, a sword slung over one shoulder, his dark hair spiked up over a scarred face. "I can already taste their blood on my blade." His lips turned upwards into a smirk as his head turned towards a red haired female warrior to one side of him. "I can't believe they make this an honorary post, paying us to torment them... I wouldn't mind paying for the pleasure."

"I want one of the pretty ones." The woman leaned forwards to examined some of the younger men who had been stopped in the line, her blade of her axe soon coming to rest against the throat of one a young blonde boy... one that Yuuri recognised as the boy from the passenger liner. "No need to be shy with theses ones, unlike those in Callas, death sentences... _ah_... how they make my blood sing."

Yuuri's body stilled suddenly, his fingers curling as he realised exactly what this was and exactly how much it was like those ancient Roman games. There were duels intended to be done this very day, but they weren't between two evenly matched fighters, but between these brutalised prisoners and people who had no qualms about torturing the condemned until they bled out, all for the pleasure of the crowds roaring behind him in the arena.

His magic raced upwards through his body, his fingers clenching into fists as he heard their laughter, heard the cries for mercy of the condemned. No one should suffer like this! No one should be forced... His heart squeezed, recognising some of the prisoners as pirates from the ship which had attacked them only a few days before. Yet, he couldn't condone their deaths. How could they learn from their mistakes?

That cold hard anger surged slowly within him, his heart twisting at the sight of so much needless suffering. Yet, he couldn't lose control here, his eyes closed tight against the roar in his ears and his blood, the tingle that swept through him as Morgif began to respond to his power. His eyes stared at the horrible anguish of so many.

He needed to do something... anything to stop this brutality...

* * *

><p><strong>YEEEEEEEEP! Cliffy. But that is how the anime went! I'm not going to spoil it. But YEP Yuuri and Conrart got married! They are 'officially' and legally married according to local law. They just might not tell anyone exactly what they've done until they officially marry in the Great Demon Kingdom. No one understands the importance of the rings. XD And Yes, Yozak does have a bit of a thing going when it comes to Conrart. <strong>


	7. Part 7: Where Loyalties Lie

**Author's Note: I think this chapter turned out rather well! Thanks to those who gave me a hand with this! This is a little christmas gift for you all!**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing! **

* * *

><p><strong>Van, Vandavia Island, Cimaron Territory<strong>

A tiny shiver rumbled through the ground beneath his boots in response to his surging emotions, his eyes closed for one long moment, before sliding open again, the dark pupils contracting, becoming dark slits swallowed every speck of light within the iris. His head lifted, shoulders straightening. Instead of reaching for his magic, his hand dropped down to his sword, fingers curling around the hilt, the leather and metal cool against his palm. Morgif hooted softly from where he was sheathed across Yuuri's back, clearly exciting why what was about to happen, though it was clear he wanted to be the sword that Yuuri wielded.

Stepping forwards from where he had been shielded by cool stone, his blade slipped free from its scabbard as he gazed at the two gladiators and the dozen soldiers that had broken the spirit of every single prisoner in their care. The mistreatment of them was horrific and no man deserved that. Yuuri had been treated like that, as if he were little more than the dirt on the sole of someone's boot.

"Is this how you treat those in your care?"The words echoed with that dark hint of magic, his blood roaring with the force of it as he stepped forwards. "By beating them and treating them like animals?"

"What do you think you're doing?" One of the gladiators scoffed, dull brown eyes turning towards him, before glancing away dismissively. "Put that sword away, whelp."

"Yuuri?"

He could hear the familiar slide and snick of metal against metal as a blade cleared its sheath and the soft tread of boots on stone. Yuuri recognised that voice instantly and didn't look to one side knowing that Conrart would be standing, blade drawn beside him.

"I can't let this happen, even if they are pirates. This is beyond barbaric."

"I'm with you, Love." Conrart's response was swift and reassuring, not once questioning the sanity of this particular action, but understanding well the reason behind it. "I can't seem to take you anywhere without you finding some kind of trouble."

"Trouble finds me." Yuuri couldn't help but smile. "But so do you."

Yuuri charged forwards, blade up as Conrart moved in the same rhythm, both men standing shoulder to shoulder as they fought against the two gladiators, driving them back and away as they met them in combat. That was when the entire situation exploded, the Cimaron guards realising that the both men who had challenged them were not the usual breed of swordsman.

Some of the prisoners looked up, their battered faces turning towards the sound of steel meeting steel. Some already beginning to fight against their bonds, hope lighting their eyes. However, just as before, they were subdued with powerful blows from the spears the soldiers were carrying, knocking them down and pulling those in the chain gang down with them.

_"Stop it."_ Yuuri hissed as he finally knocked the gladiator unconscious and went after the soldier who had been beating the prisoners. His blade slashed through the wooden shaft of the spear, his blade turning, the flat of it slamming so hard into the gut of the soldier, the air was knocked out of him. The human crumpled at his feet, but he was already fending off two more human soldiers, his blows however were aimed to incapacitate and not kill. He did not need more blood on his hands this day.

Conrart and Yuuri were soon back to back, each man trusting the other to guard it as they fought off the Cimaron soldiers, their blades singing. Out of the corner of Yuuri's eye he caught a glimpse of something amber flashing in the morning sunshine and a pair of blue eyes. Yozak stood there in the shadows, watching them for a long moment, something like... jealousy flaring in their depths before it was gone, the man disappearing once more as Wolfram barrelled out of the passageway to come to a halt at seeing what Yuuri and Conrart had gotten themselves into.

"What the heck did you do this time?"

"I was wanting some sword practice!" Yuuri yelled back, before he was knocking down another guard. "Free the prisoners!"

"Yuuri, you're insane!"

"Wolf."

"Fine, but it's your insane scheme! Your fault if this fails!"

The Demon King grinned at that, when Wolfram raced forwards, his sword clearing his scabbard and his blade came down hard on a coil of chains that rested on the ground before one of the men. The was a sharp snap, the chains giving way under the power of the younger man's blow, Wolfram was already spinning away as a soldier faced him, defeating the man quickly before going back to his task, while Yuuri and Conrart concentrated on the swarms of guards attempting to stop them.

There was the sound of approaching boot steps, just as the last of the soldiers fell in an unconscious heap at Yuuri's feet. A hand gripped his wrist, tugging him along, pulling him towards the shelter of the alleyways that surrounded the stadium. Yuuri's head lifted and his eyes gazed into the bruised face of one of the prisoners, the man offering Yuuri a grateful smile.

"This way." He rasped, half stumbling forwards, dragging Yuuri along, Conrart barely half a step behind. They were weaving their way through the streets, Wolfram following them, blonde hair whipping back away from his face. "Here!" The man suddenly pushed through a doorway, his body flattening against the wall inside, the three of them entering behind him as the door was pushed shut by a woman behind Wolfram.

"Jonathon?" The blonde haired woman turned to face them, her eyes widening in shock before she let out a cry of joy and flung herself at the man, arms wrapping around his body and burying her face against the beaten man's chest. "I thought...!"

"I'm safe, Miri." The human whispered soothingly, hand pressed against the back of her blonde head. "I'm safe. Thanks to these men." His dark chocolate brown eyes met Yuuri's, offering them all a warm smile. "I don't know what deity blessed me this day with your arrival, but thank you, all of you. The resistance in Van would have been finished without you all. Who sent you to find us? Marcus or Dieter?"

Yuuri opened his mouth, blinked once and shook his head slightly. "I don't quite know what you're talking about."

"You don't..."

"We're just travellers." Conrart said swiftly, his hand lightly grasping Yuuri's arm warmly.

"Well you are a blessing. Most of those you rescued were from Tabonam, prisoners transported from Big Cimaron to here so that they could be made examples of. _No one should resist Big Cimaron's might_, what trash."

However before they were able to ask more about exactly what he was talking about, there was a rapid sound of staccato foot falls outside the house, soldiers flashing by the window as they flattened themselves against the wall. It was now probably possible that they wouldn't be able to meet the ship they had booked passage on. Yuuri winced at that, knowing that his reckless actions might have cost them, yet as he gazed over at where Miri and Jonathon stood, he knew he hadn't. This was an innocent man, condemned by those who would treat them as the pirates would those women.

The door creaked open and Yozak stuck his head into the gap, his blue eyes glinting with relief. "I've found us a ride, Sire. This way, we have to hurry before they close off the port."

Without another word, they slipped out of the house, the man's thanks echoing behind them, leaving Yuuri wondering exactly what to make of the entire thing.

* * *

><p>Conrart, Wolfram and Yuuri jolted to a stop on either side of Yozak and stared at the large dark blue, red and white ship that rested out in the harbour, a smaller boat already heading towards them. There on the bow of the vessel stood a very familiar figure, her long blonde hair whipping around her shoulders in the gentleness of the breeze, coming up off the water.<p>

"Hey, your Majesty!" One elegant arm raised over her head and waved at them, her green eyes sparkling with delight and amusement. "Long time no see!"

"Lady Cecilie?" Yuuri blinked and suddenly flushed as his thumb lightly brushed against the inside of the ring he was wearing.

"Don't be shy, hop aboard!"

"What is Mother doing here?" Wolfram asked softly, blinking in surprise as he continued to stare at the familiar ship sitting out in the deeper waters just off the coast.

* * *

><p><strong>Private Yacht, <em>Liberty Love<em>, Cimaron Waters**

Yuuri's head tipped back slightly and he gazed around him at the startling opulence of the ship around him, taking in the crystal wear and fine elegant fittings of the large sitting room that rested near the bow of the ship. Tiny gas lamps ran along the wall, their light diffusing to give the room a rather cosy feel to it. Wide windows spanned the room just behind the long length of the red couch, natural light flooding this end of the space.

"Does it seem hot in here?" Yuuri wore a slight flush, his head ducked slightly and turned away from where Lady Cecilie had literally plastered herself up along one side of his body. He really wanted nothing more than to slide across the couch and curl up against Conrart who sat at one corner.

"It's been ages, your Majesty." She paused, a smile brightening her emerald green eyes. One of her long elegant hands curled around one of his own, fingertips lightly rubbing over the ring he wore, her gaze dropping down with interest to it. There was no recognition in her eyes to what it symbolised. "How has it been going with my darling son? Progress on the love front?"

"I'd say." Wolfram grumbled, his pale cheeks suddenly heating as he stared at Yuuri with a slight scowl tugging at his lips. "They've been going at it like... like..." Head tipping upwards, he suddenly couldn't look at either Yuuri or Conrart, his embarrassment clear.

"Oh my." She looked quite pleased about that.

"Love." Conrart offered out a hand to Yuuri, the dark haired Demon King looking positively grateful to slip away from that roving hands and scooted over towards Conrart. The half-breed's large hand curled around Yuuri's, drawing it up to his lips and pressing a kiss against the warm palm, before he laced his own fingers through his lover's.

Even Wolfram looked a little startled by the term of endearment that Conrart had used for Yuuri, but neither man seemed worried by it. The matching pair of rings glittered on both of their left hands, symbolising what they shared together.

Yuuri turned his attention to the beautiful buxom blonde whom was watching them both intently. "I was surprised to see you here in human territory, Lady Cecilie. What brought you to Vandavia just when we needed you?"

"Mother just happened to be on her worldwide tour in the pursuit of free love." Wolfram answered, his green eyes taking in his mother's appeared for a moment.

"I must prepare a nice comfy bed for you, Majesty." Lady Cecilie smiled, before almost wanting to chuckle at the slight scowl that crossed Conrart's features, his hand tightening possessively around Yuuri's. It warmed her heart to know that one of her sons had found true love, especially in someone so warm and caring.

"Mother!"

"This is my ship and I can do anything that I want."

"Yuuri... there is something I need to attend to. Mother, Wolfram, if you would both excuse me." Conrart was pushing himself upwards, his fingertips caressing across Yuuri's cheek lovingly, his mouth finding Yuuri's for a long moment, lingering there. "I'll meet you in _our_ cabin later."

Yuuri only smiled, nodding once as he watched Conrart slip from the room, though his brows drew together in worry over the expression that ran across Conrart's face.

* * *

><p>Yuuri silently moved up the steps from the dark corridor below, intent on reaching the outside bow deck when he heard a familiar voice and paused. His body freezing just on the other side of the door that blocked the view of the two men just up along the ship from him. He knew he shouldn't list, every part of him told him he should head back down and move to the other side of the ship, but he couldn't.<p>

"What were you thinking?"

"About what?"

"You _knew_." Conrart's jaw gritted sharply, his expression showing that he knew that Yozak knew exactly what the 'celebrations' would have been about. "You knew that it was going to be death matches going on in that arena when you suggested it. You knew he would not be able to prevent himself from helping those people..." The thought that his friend had used Yuuri's nature against him like that, knowing the outcome and also knowing the reason why Yozak had planned that, to see if he could force Yuuri's hand when it came to Morgif.

"It all worked out, didn't it? If he received a human life to feed that sword like it said in the book Gunter gave Wolfram, then we would have far more options. Either way though, the King will become immensely popular."

"It might have worked out, but your method..." Hands clenched into fists, Conrart's eyes narrowing on his long time friend, remembering the hand that had curled around his wrist attempting to prevent him from following after Yuuri. The awareness of something that had remained unspoken between them. Yozak's feelings for Conrart.

"In what way was it a mistake? Do you really think it's safe to leave the fate of the Great Demon Kingdom in the hands of that _predictable_ boy? All we have to do is control things from the shadows. It's good for the Kingdom and easier on him. The way he dotes on you Conrart..."

"_Yozak_." It was a low warning sound.

"The problem with what happened between Stoffel and Lady Cecilie wasn't that she didn't rule personally, but it was that she put her trust in the wrong people. That boy is trusting enough in both of us, it's quite possible to..."

Conrart's fist snapped out so fast that Yozak didn't have time to dodge, it connected so hard with Yozak's jaw that it sent the man sprawling backwards with a hard thump against the wooden decking. The half-breed's jaw clenched in rage, cinnamon eyes swirling with tiny silver stars which flashed in the fading daylight. "I won't let you make him some kind of puppet. Should anything ever happen to him again, Yozak and I know that you are the cause. You can consider yourself a dead man." Conrart stood over Yozak, his expression close to murderous.

"Conrart..." Blue eyes widened slightly as he touched his fingers to his now throbbing jaw, sitting up on the deck he stared at the man before him with shock running across his features. "You..." Yozak had never been struck before by his friend, not in all the years they had been together.

The brown haired half-blood turned away, heading back towards the doorway that led back down into the ship when the voice behind him stopped him in his tracks.

"You've only known him, what... a few weeks at most? You've known me for _decades_. How can you... love him so much?" Yozak's fingers rubbed at his jaw, before he was finally getting to his feet, his jaw beginning to swell just a little from the hard impact of that fist. " Why was I not good enough? _Conrart_! Why not me?"

"You're a good man, Yozak, I might not like what you did today, but I do understand your concerns. You've always been a good friend to me." His eyes closed, knowing that this would more than likely remain between them for a while yet, but no matter how much Yozak had cared for him beyond their friendship, he had not been able to return that particular sentiment. However, with Yuuri... Suddenly he stilled, his head lifting from where it had dropped to stare at the deck to face the doorway.

_Yuuri_.

Yozak jerked at the sound of their King's given name.

The ship rolled a little as it crested another wave and the door to the inside of the ship move from partially open to bang back against the wall. There stood Yuuri Shibuya, his dark hair fanning around his face as his body turned, obsidian eyes meeting Yozak's. Yuuri had heard every word of what Yozak had done or attempted to do.

"Is my heart... so much of a weakness?" The question was croaked, hands fisting at his sides, obsidian eyes shimmering ever so slightly, before it was blinked away and the man straightened. "I trust in you, Yozak."

Betrayal was something Conrart knew Yuuri had suffered far too often in his life, he had heard several of the painful stories about it. "It's not a weakness, Beloved. Your heart is your greatest strength." Conrart was moving towards his lover slowly, the last thing he wanted to do was see Yuuri bolt. For all of Yuuri's strength, there were some parts of his beloved that were still fractured inside.

"I want to believe in people." Yuuri's obsidian eyes stared fixedly into Yozak's vivid blue ones. "I want to be able to trust in their intensions and their loyalties."

"I'm loyal to the Great Demon Kingdom."

"Is everything I do not enough, Yozak, to prove that I am _capable_ of being Demon King?" He regarded the man who had manipulated him for his own desires. "I know I can be a little rash at times. I have my flaws like every other person. However, I do not shirk my duties." If he had not been on that particular ship, he would have been back in the Great Demon Kingdom, learning not only to read and to take on the mantel of King, but also seeking out 'Ulrike' to find some way to control his magic. "I will just keep trying then and maybe someday you'll see... controlling me is not the answer. I want all those around me to work _with_ me to make a brighter future for all of us."

"Your Majesty!" Yozak called out this time, but the dark haired young man had returned to the darkness of the ship below decks.

* * *

><p><strong>Deserted Beach<strong>

"Are you angry with me, Yuuri?" Conrart dropped to one knee beside his husband, stretching out one hand to lightly caress one cheek and tuck the long raven strands back behind one of his ears gently.

"No." Yuuri sighed, leaning into the touch and resting both arms across the top of his folded up knees. His gaze remained fixed out across the moonlight ocean, his eyes flickering towards the boat anchored in the quiet harbour. "Not with you, my Prince."

Letting out a relieved sigh at that, Conrart was shifting so that he could sit behind his lover, long legs spread on either side of the King, both arms curling around his body and drawing him back against his chest. Chin resting against one shoulder, he pressed a soft kiss to the side of Yuuri's throat, nuzzling the silky skin, grateful to feel Yuuri relax in his grip.

"What happened with Yozak..." Yuuri covered Conrart's left hand with his own, their rings clinking softly together, his fingertips sliding between his husband's. "It just unnerved me to realise how easily things can be manipulated around me without me realising it. I guess I have to be more aware of people and their motives. Blind trust... no matter how much I wish it were possible... can't help me here."

"Yozak will eventually realise the truth about you, my Love." His voice was muffled a little against Yuuri's skin, eyes closing and just relieved that Yuuri was still so willing to talk to him about his worries and what troubled him. "You can always trust me, Yuuri."

"I know I can, my sweet Prince." Eyes drifted closed when he felt Conrart's right hand lift to brush against his throat, the back of those fingers sweeping from collar bone to chin lightly, tracing the line of his pulse. "The one person in the world I can always trust."

Conrart treasured that, holding close those words and feeling them warm his heart even more. "I would never let anyone hurt you, Yuuri. I would die first before I let anyone raise a finger to harm you."

"Do you want to tell people about our marriage?" Yuuri was offering up the choice to Conrart, knowing that their private marriage was still a secret to everyone besides themselves. They had that night also gotten the legal documents for it, their pledge and binding was quite legal and even Gunter would find it hard to dispute the legality of it. "The engagement party is still planned for when we get back... and the wedding will be whenever you would like it. However... no one has to know what we did. It's almost kind of... amusing."

"I would... rather keep this between us." There was something about it, something precious about sharing an intimacy like this between just the two of them. "We eloped."

Yuuri blinked once, before suddenly bursting out laughing, his bright eyes wide with surprise and amusement when he considered Conrart's words and the fact that it could almost be true. "Could you imagine Gwendal's face? Scowling at us... growling about 'reckless behaviour' and God only knows what else." Attempting to smother another burst of laughter. "Gunter would have a fit."

Laughter was silenced by a heated kiss, one that Yuuri turned his head more into, his fingers curling into Conrart's hair, holding their mouths together, the heat spilling through both of them, consuming them in the firestorm of passion.

"I wonder..." Yuuri lightly brushed his fingers through the silky locks of Conrart's hair, teasing the shorter strands at the back. "What you would look like with your hair longer. It's so soft." Rubbing several strands between his fingers, he twisted around in Conrart's arms. Straddling the other man's lap, Yuuri slipped one arm beneath his lover's, tucking himself chest to chest with his lover, feeling strong limbs curve around his own.

"I will let it grow out if you like." His head turned just slightly, enough to capture a finger between his lips and suck on it softly, drawing a heated little moan from Yuuri. It wouldn't take long for his hair to start growing out and he wanted to feel those fingers sliding through it.

"If you don't mind."

One last lick to that fingertip. "Not at all."

"What are you two doing over there?"

Yuuri bit back another laugh as he saw Wolfram standing on the sand just behind them, the boy's face actually quite red from the fact he had caught them in a rather intimate position yet again. "Hello, Wolf, what's up?" His chin rested against Conrart's shoulder, not bothering to remove himself from his rather comfortable position straddling his lover's lap.

"You've been gone for an eternity."

"Did you rush all the way out here to keep tabs on his Highness?" Conrart was chuckling softly. One palm lazily stroked back and forth along his spine, before resting firmly against Yuuri's rear, pulling him just a little closer. The small action alerted Yuuri to the fact that Conrart was hungry for something more than just a cuddle and kisses.

"Oh... I almost forgot!" Wolfram's green eyes widened as he shifted away, heat continuing to suffuse his face. "It's horrible, Yuuri! It's Morgif, Morgif!"

* * *

><p><strong>Private Yacht, <em>Liberty Love<em>, Cimaron Waters**

A low moaning sigh filled the air as Morgif's mouth distended rather grotesquely.

"Not again." Yuuri sighed softly as he gazed down at Morgif, feeling like he wanted to bang his head against the wall, his fingers rubbing lightly over his face, knowing that he definitely needed sleep considering all that had happened.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty, but it's such a rare object, I couldn't help but pick it up to have a little look at it." Lady Cecilie Von Spitzweg turned to regard Yuuri for one long moment, her fingers curling tightly together, red nails glinting in the cabin light. "I just wanted to look." She said plaintively. "It bit me..."

"Did you start to feel numb or anything like that?" Conrart asked, his expression just as exasperatedly amused as Yuuri's.

"No, but I was so startled I'm afraid I dropped him. The poor thing lost all his vigour. I don't know what happened."

The idea of Morgif, the groaning sword having vigour was strangely spine tinglingly terrifying. Yuuri winced a little, glancing down at the sword for a long moment.

"I suppose it's because this fell out." Cecilie's hand opened and a tiny obsidian sat in the centre of her palm, its dark colour a perfect match for Yuuri's own dark eyes.

"What is it?"

"It was the obsidian affixed to Morgif's forehead."

Yuuri reached out and carefully lifted the stone from Cecilie's out-stretched palm, feeling the sudden jolt of tingling power sliding right up his arm and almost made him drop it. Blinking sharply, he reached out to curl his fingers around Conrart's wrist, thumb resting against the pulse of his lover's heart, using the steady beat to anchor himself in the powerful wash of untapped magic the stone contained. "It's his power source."

"You think the gem is fascinating too, don't you, your Majesty? You can see why I wanted to hold it."

"Yozak." Yuuri's eyes closed tightly, his hand shooting out towards the other half-breed, his shoulders shivering as he felt the powerful arcs of magic burn through his very veins. "Take it."

The amber haired Demon Tribesman's blue eyes widened at the authority in that statement. His hand reaching out towards the white knuckle one of the King, suddenly aware that something was very wrong right at that moment. "Sire?"

"I entrust this stone to your keeping." Through sheer force of will, he was able to unfurl his trembling fingers, the obsidian dropping from his grip and into Yozak's palm as he staggered at the sudden disconnection between himself and what had been the heart of Morgif's power for so long. "I want you to get rid of this stone where no one will ever think of looking for it." His thumb rubbed back and forth against Conrart's pulse point, desperately trying to sooth his own racing heart.

The protective half-breed was allowing his shoulder to rest against Yuuri's, supporting him and allowing him a better grip. Something within him purred softly in contentment over the fact that the first thing Yuuri reached for to anchor himself had been him and not Wolfram, Yozak or Cecilie.

"But why, Yuuri? It will render the sword completely useless!" The blonde noble's frown darkened slightly.

"You should keep it, your Majesty, it would make a fabulous earring. It goes so well with your hair and lovely eyes."

"My original purpose of obtaining Morgif was never to use him in battle, but to bring him back to the Great Demon Kingdom where no more harm can befall those seeking him. He is not a weapon, he is a treasure of the Great Demon Kingdom. That stone..." A shiver rippled up through his entire body. "Is contains an extremely large amount of confined energy. It... was... intoxicating and _terrifying_."

"Are you sure? What if I sold it to one of the other countries or if I brought this back to our land and gave it to someone other than you?"

"You mean Gwendal?" Yuuri almost wanted to smile at that. "Gwendal agreed with me on this course of action."

"He... _what_?"

"But if you believe it would benefit the Great Demon Kingdom, than do so. But know that your choices what you do with it, reflect back solely on you. I am placing my trust in you, despite the choices you have made up until this point. I believe you only want to protect our home and the people there as much as I wish to." His eyes met those clear blue ones, both of them knowing that the reason they fought so hard for the Great Demon Kingdom was because they wanted to protect Conrart Weller.

"I accept the appointed task, King Yuuri."

* * *

><p><strong>Voltaire Castle, Voltaire Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Your Majesty! Thank goodness you are unharmed!" Gunter was practically squeezing the very life out of Yuuri Shibuya, the lavender haired Demon practically sniffling back his tears.

"Gunter... your nose is running." Yuuri stood there feeling slightly embarrassed by the fact the man was practically clinging to him, though he could feel Conrart's beautiful silver streaked cinnamon eyes narrowing on the Royal Aide.

"Excuse me..." And Gunter rubbed his nose and face against his sleeve, making several sniffling noises as he did so. "Oh, Sire, I saw the incredible inscription on the back of Morgif's sword guard. You are quite masterful, Sire!" Finally Gunter released the stiff Demon King and looked much more composed, though he was quite liable to 'explode' again with his almost outrageous displays of emotion. "Call my name and I will overcome limitations. My name is Willem Du Soliel Eli De Morgif! If I should lose this stone in my brow and become an ordinary blade, I will always remain a faithful servant of the Demon King and will die on the battlefield."

"How on Earth, did you fit all of that on there?" Yuuri mused softly, his head tipping back slightly to regard Conrart as he stepped away from the still rather sniffily Gunter. "Actually... don't tell me. Where was he taken?"

"Morgif will be sealed into the treasure vault at Covenant Castle."

The Demon King nodded slightly, thinking it was finally fitting that Morgif was now back where he belonged and would no longer pose a danger to anyone. However, other thoughts had troubled him for a while and he had yet been able to talk to Gwendal quite yet as the man had been absent when they had returned only a few hours before. "How are things with Cavalcade? Has Gwendal been able to find out more about the movements of magic wielders?"

"Regarding that matter, there's no more need to worry." Gwendal moved down the corridor towards them, his features relaxed and he actually offered them a ghost of a smile. "It is good to see you all returned safely."

"What do you mean, Gwendal, has something happened?" Wolfram's green eyes flickered up to look into Gwendal's face, though the youngest of the three brothers looked positively shocked at the smile on his brother's face.

"A messenger from Cavalcade arrived only moments ago as I was returning myself." Gwendal had returned to the castle the moment of their arrival had reached him. "He came to inform us that the ruler would like to visit out land and be granted an audience with his Majesty."

"Very well, so be it!" Anissina popped up like a jack-in-the-box from just behind Gwendal, scaring literally everyone out of their wits. "After all if he insists, we must oblige. I'll entertain him with my inventions." In her hands sat a rather odd mechanical device that looked remarkably like a fish.

"Anissina, calm down, I'm sure that won't be necessary."

Yuuri almost wanted to laugh at Gwendal's much put upon expression, the man's left eyebrow twitching ever so slightly, indicating that Gwendal and Gunter had both ended up guinea pigs for Anissina in the time they had been away. "Why exactly? That is an extreme change in position..."

"Do you remember how you repelled the pirates who attacked the passenger ship you were travelling on? Well the eldest son of the King of Cavalcade was apparently also on that ship when you were. He eloped with a merchant's daughter, aboard that ship. Apparently he has informed his royal father that he is greatly indebted to you."

Yuuri Shibuya blinked sharply, before glancing back towards Conrart, both eyebrows raised. "You don't think..." Two faces appeared in his mind and he couldn't help but consider them. Beatrice and Mr Heathcrife, he had seen in their eyes no fear of his power, only gratitude for what he had done for them.

"I think it's quite possible, Yuuri, that Mr Heathcrife was indeed the Cavalcadian Prince."

"I do believe that was his name." The charcoal haired Demon nodded.

"Well... what do you know." Yuuri let out a burst of laughter, his hand reaching out to lightly grip Gwendal's forearm, squeezing it softly in thanks and reassurance. "It looks like our problems are mostly sorted after all. I would like to meet the King, it would be a good opportunity to build good relations with our neighbours. However, I defer to your choices for the finer details of the arrangements." The obsidian-eyed half-breed trusted in Gwendal's abilities and he wanted the man to know that. "Thank you for watching over the Kingdom in my absence, Gwendal, you as well Gunter. I'm looking forwards to digging into things back at Covenant Castle."

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Knocking softly on the door, he was nudging it open with his shoulder as he carried a cup of steaming tea in his hands, carefully cradling the plate where several biscuits of the finer ones he was usually served on it. "Miss Gisela?" His head twisted slightly as he gaze into what could be considered the infirmary for the castle, gazing past the long beds and down to the end where he could see just the hint of the white behind one of the massive shelves that sat there.

"Come in, I'll be with you in a moment." Came the reply, partially muffled by the presence of the shelves.

Yuuri stepped in, making his way through the space, feeling an odd sense of familiarity with this space, an awareness of it that he could now actually put a label to. Julia had been a healer and a close friend with Gisela, it stood to reason that she had spent time in the infirmary at the castle looking after people. "I don't mean to intrude." He settled himself into one of the chairs by the large desk in one corner, carefully setting the plate down. "I bring offerings."

Gisela's green eyes widened in surprise when she turned around and found herself staring into the smiling face of the Demon King who was offering out a cup of hot, sweet tea and biscuits. "Majesty... I..."

"You don't need to be so formal, Gisela. I'm not about to start commanding people." Amusement crossed his features, Yuuri looked content seated there, before offering out the tea again. "Sit with me, drink and have a little break. I was hoping that you might help me with a little issue of mine."

Instantly Gisela was moving forwards, her eyes scanning quickly over every inch of the King, worry creasing her brow. "Are you unwell, Sire... Yuuri...?"

"I'm in good health." Thankfully. It had been so long since he felt at full strength, that the weakness that plagued him at times after his expenditures of mass quantities of magic. "What I was hoping you might assist me with is learning to heal." His fingers wiggled slightly when she finally accepted the tea cup from him. "Apparently I have some skill in it... the problem is... I'm using a sledge hammer to pound in a nail rather than just a small hammer that can get the same job done just as well." Wincing slightly at his own slightly awkward metaphor, he hoped he was clear about the issue that came to his magic.

"You wish for..." A slight flush ran across her cheekbones at that, the tea cup half way to her lips, before she finally lifted it to drink trying to hide her surprise. "There are others far more knowledgeable than I..."

"But no one I would trust me to teach me these skills." His obsidian eyes glittered with veiled emotions, his back straightening, lips pressing together. "I know how to kill." Fingers curled together in his lap at that, guilt darkening his eyes until they were a starless black. "I want to know how to save a life, Gisela. I want to know where my limits are so I don't do something..."

Gisela had gone pale.

"I'm sorry, Gisela. I... I know how Lady Julia died... and I want to prevent that from ever happening again." His hand reached out, large warm fingers curling around one of her cold ones, squeezing it softly. "Please. I want no more to die. I want to heal the wounds of this Kingdom and our people."

Swallowing hard, she gazed down into those intense dark eyes, touched that he would be so concerned by such a thing, but knowing it was just another part of their King, his compassion. "Yes, I would be honoured to teach you."

"Thank you." He sighed in gratitude, before settling back into the chair, his fingers rubbing lightly over his face. "I hope, Gisela, that given time you might consider me a friend."

"I already do, Yuuri." Her slender hand lightly rested against his shoulder softly, squeezing in reassurance. "I appreciate the tea. It was just what I needed." Before her head tipped to the side as she looked down into his slightly flushed face and clearly sensed that there was something else that he wanted to ask for. Awareness suddenly struck her and she couldn't help but smile. Heading back over to the shelving, she reached for one of the oil based salves and drew it down to carefully set it beside Yuuri. "I see things have continued to improve between yourself and Lord Weller?"

Yuuri grinned as he pocketed the vial and his mood immediately lightened at the mere mention of Conrart. "It has." His fingers rubbed lightly over the gold and silver ring, thumb sliding over the smooth surface with a small distracted smile coming to his lips. "More than..." A soft happy sound escaped his throat. "Anyone knows."

"Sire?"

He held a finger up to his lips and shook his head slightly. "A secret."

"Sire..."

Standing from where he had flopped into the chair, he stretched, muscles and joints protesting the movements for only a moment, before he relaxed again. "I am honestly glad I finished what Gunter set out for me earlier at Voltaire Castle and here... and I've already read through the latest reports with Gwendal... meetings, troop deployments... civil works..." And a whole bunch of other things and had finally, _finally _managed to get an hour or two off before Gunter decided to pounce on him again. Problem was, Conrart was attending to his own duties for the moment leaving Yuuri lonely and seeking someone to talk to and to escape Gunter before the Aide decided to drag him to his etiquette lessons early. He protested nothing else but that. "I admit I actually do enjoy most of the work," Because he actually felt like he was making a difference for all those in the Great Demon Kingdom. "But..."

"Your Majesty!"

Wide obsidian eyes gazed at Gisela pleadingly. "_Please_, Lady Gisela. _Mercy_." He breathed out.

"Sire?"

"Two words. _Etiquette lessons_."

Understanding came to Gisela's face and she offered him a warm smile before gently tugging on his hand and guiding him out to the private door hidden behind the furthest shelf. "This will take you out into the courtyard near the stables."

"Thank you." And he gave Gisela a tight quick hug of thanks before slipping out the door and bolting across the courtyard before Gunter could actually find him and basically drag him into several hours learning which spork to use... Shuddering, he ducked into the stables, several of the horses nickering in response to his presence.

A flash of chocolate brown over the top of one stall had him changing direction and vaulting the door in one swift movement. Strong hands caught him around the waist as he landed, drawing him against a powerful body. "Love? What's the..."

Yuuri silenced Conrart with a heart-stopping kiss, knowing it was the quickest and most effective way of silencing his husband as he tugged him downwards and into the straw. Cinnamon eyes immediately darkened in response to the rather unorthodox treatment, large hands still resting against the small of Yuuri's back.

There was the sound of boots against hay and stone. The top of Gunter's head bobbed past the top of the stall wall, the swish of his cloak moving behind him. "Your Majesty, it's time for your etiquette lessons!"

Both of Conrart's eyebrows lifted at that, his body sprawled against clean straw, Yuuri sprawled over him, straddling his hips. Amusement crinkled the corners of his silver flecked eyes. Yuuri licked across Conrart's lips, a slight frown tugging at his mouth, giving his lover a look that said 'would you like it if it were you?'.

Conrart half opened his mouth to speak, before Yuuri's hand covered over it, giving Conrart a short look. Yuuri knew his lover was teasing him, the smug man, both of them knowing that Conrart really wouldn't give him up to Gunter when they finally had some time together. That mouth however didn't remain still, tongue and teeth rasping softly against the sensitive palm, sending a hot shiver up through Yuuri almost making him groan in response.

The King's hand however dropped south across Conrart's body, suddenly cupping his lover right through his pants, stroking over him hotly through the woollen fabric. Their eyes meeting, obsidian to shocked silvery brown, the pupils were dilating rapidly, Conrart's hips arching a little into the slow caresses.

"Majesty!" Gunter was still there, just beyond the horses and wooden partitions. "Your Highness, where are you?"

"What is all this yelling about?" Gwendal's deep baritone filled the air and cut off Gunter's current 'wail' for Yuuri.

"His Highness is missing."

"Missing as in, trying to escape you and the fact that you finished his last lesson barely half an hour ago? Or missing as in, spending time with my Brother?"

"Or both." Yuuri whispered hotly into Conrart's ear, nuzzling his lover, before sucking once on that earlobe. However, Conrart shifted a touch uncomfortably beneath him. The King was forced to admit, sneaking something more than kisses while Gwendal was around was definitely not going to happen.

Yuuri almost laughed as he tugged at Conrart's hand, moving swiftly forwards and beneath the separating barriers between stalls, keeping his head down and actually managing to get to the door, Conrart just behind him. The soldier's brows were right up into his hairline over exactly what they were doing, but even he couldn't help but smile. It was so silly... both of them half covered in straw, sneaking around in an effort to avoid both Gwendal and Gunter.

Peeking his head out were the last barrier opened up to the main doorway, he glanced towards Gwendal and saw the man's back to him. Pushing himself upwards through the gap, he was scrambling to his feet, straw falling from his clothes in waves, before he was stopping to one side of the doorway. Conrart barely a few feet behind him when...

"HIGHNESS!"

The sudden call had him staring wide eyed at Gunter and backing up several steps, a protest actually about to come out of his mouth that time. The back of his calves suddenly thumped hard against one end of a large water trough. His arms actually flailed, his obsidian eyes wide as he tipped over backwards.

With a loud splash, he was submerged completely, his hands scrambling to find purchase on the sides of it, however it was smooth. The water shimmered as his magic ignited with his momentary panic. Large hands were reaching down for him, Conrart's palms brushing against his sides, when he felt the familiar pull sucking at him, but this time he wasn't the only one going somewhere. The draw on Conrart's hands was enough to suck the soldier downwards into the water with an even larger splash...

The vortex swirled around both of them, dragging them downwards into the watery void.

Sometimes magic was not a good thing to have.

* * *

><p><strong>Hehe XD They aren't going back to Earth XD I always wanted to write that scene when Yuuri first arrives in the Tomb of the Great One XD Yuuri was capable of 'vortex travel' in later series within the alternative world. Why couldn't it happen by accident now since the Great One promised not to send Yuuri back to Earth. Wonder where Conrart mind end up on this trip. LOL<strong>


	8. Part 8: What Brings Us Together

**Author's Note: I hope that everyone is enjoying this story. Its about to start heating up a little. Several little plot lines running through the next three chapters. I will be sticking close to some things in the anime, but other things will change a little to suit some of the plot lines of the story. There will be an engagement party! Hehe. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but Samuel.**

**Dedicated to Yumi-chan Hamano, Sexysidney, Ben4Kevin and Is_sm. Thankyou for all your reviews! Every one that you have sent me has been much appreciated and inspires me to keep turning out chapters like mad. I can't believe this story is approaching 65,000 words!**

* * *

><p><strong>The Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Bright sunshine blazed directly down into his eyes and he blinked rapidly as he turned his head away, groaning softly while he attempted to right himself. This was definitely not what he had expected to happen, especially not today. White clouds drifted past his gaze, some floating over the sun and breaking the spell it seemed to hold over him. Slick water weed was coiled around his limbs and head, the slimy roots tangled through his dark hair.

"Why is it always water?" He groaned, feeling oddly like a beached jellyfish. "Please... keep your promise." Yuuri whispered more to himself than to anyone else.

Closing his eyes again for a long moment, he let out a sharp breath, before pushing himself upwards, a large mass of weed remaining firmly on his head, drooping down over his face and eyes. Relief immediately flooded him at the fact that he was in a place that looked too much like the Great Demon Kingdom to be Earth. Sending up a silent thank you to the Great One, his gaze flickered to the face of a rather pretty young maiden decked out in robes of translucent white and fine threads of blue and red.

Her wide blue eyes were filled with fright, long blonde hair drifting down over parts of her pallid face.

"Don't worry, I'm quite harmless." Though he was still wearing his not so formal clothes of white shirt and black pants, a sword still belted at his hip. "I apologise for my choice of... landing site."

"Somebody! Somebody, help!"

Yuuri winced at her scream, his fingers rubbing lightly at his face, brushing at the water that was dripping into his eyes. Relief however was the most forthcoming of emotions at her words, definitively those of a native of the Demon Kingdom. Although the moment his head tipped up, his short lived relief vanished as two dozen female faces appeared on the surrounding balconies and from within the oddly shaped building that surrounded him.

There was the clack of metal as several more military dressed women appeared out of the shadows, their long blades held at the ready as they surrounded the fountain he had ended up in. Their weapons suddenly lifted into attack position as they surrounded him, anger filling their expressions as they examined him sitting in their fountain.

"Who are you?" The leader of the female guard demanded, her ochre coloured eyes narrowing on his face.

"This is the sacred Tomb of the Great One." Another said from the other side of him. "Men are strictly forbidden from entering without permission."

Relief returned full force, not only was he quite close to where he had 'vanished', he was also in a place where he actually wanted to be. "Thank God." These women had little or nothing to fear from the likes of him, he wouldn't even glance at them sideways.

"Get out of the fountain and don't try anything funny!" The blonde snapped, her blade coming a little too close for comfort.

"I apologise!" Yuuri was standing up suddenly, raising both hands to show he wasn't reaching for his sword, when the weed began to fall rapidly from his head and shoulders. Rich black locks flopped forwards around his shoulders and face, his dark eyes blinking at them for a moment.

"_**YUURI!**_"

It was a positive roar of sound, like that of a lion enraged by a hunter attacking its mate. Conrart Weller's sword flashed, his large frame as wet as Yuuri's, water dripping from his body as he slammed into the first of the women, his leg slashing out and knocking for to the ground. His sword sliced the shafts of several more spears, their blades clinking to the ground as he practically snarled at them, brown eyes shimmering with burning hot silver stars. The man was in the water with Yuuri right then, his body acting as a shield against any who would even consider attacking their King. His chest was actually heaving with the force of his dead sprint, sweat mingling with the water dripping off him.

Every warrior maiden jerked back a step, their eyes widening in shock as they stared at the two men before them, horror stretching across several faces as they dropped their weapons instantly.

"It's his Highness! Its King Yuuri. It has to be him, those black eyes and hair!" All the maidens on the surrounding balconies began to rush to the railing to peer out and down.

"Please forgive our impertinence. We did not realise it was you, my Lord." The warriors dropped to their knees, heads bowed and each one of them looking ashamed.

"You ever raise your weapons to him again..." Conrart's voice was a hiss of cold steel, hand gripping the hilt of his sword, teeth almost bared at them. He had sworn he would never allow Yuuri to be harmed again, especially not after they had been sucked through the vortex. Conrart had been dumped out in one of the fountains in the gardens surrounding the Tomb, his senses had burned with the nearness of his beloved and the danger he was in.

"My Prince." Yuuri's voice was soft, stepping up beside his husband, reaching out one hand to slowly brush his fingers down along Conrart's jaw, carefully tipping his head towards him so their eyes could meet. "I'm fine. Very wet and half drowned, but I'm fine." Offering up a smile to his beloved, he felt Conrart relax at his gentle touch, the blaze of heated emotions slowly beginning to cool back down. "They were only doing their jobs. It's my fault I ended up in their fountain and you ended up being... wet."

Conrart reluctantly sheathed his blade, feeling the twisting knot of fear slowly unravel, his muscles quivering ever so slightly with the after affects of such an adrenaline rush.

"I apologise for my unexpected visit."

"You are kind and merciful, Sire. It clearly shows that you are indeed the chosen one to be the Demon King."

"You are truly uninjured, Love?" Conrart finally turned completely around to gaze into Yuuri's eyes, both hands reaching out to carefully curl around his jaw, thumbs stroking over chilled cheeks.

"Perfectly fine, though a little on the damp side." He was soon stepping out of the fountain, Conrart close against his back, a puddle was instantly forming beneath their booted feet. "I think both of us are." Though it had surprised him a little that his magic had been enough to carry both of them at the same time. "Can you send a message to Covenant Castle and informed them that both myself and Lord Weller are fine and will be returning in a few hours?" He addressed one of the warrior maidens as he said that, knowing it would be best for them to know where they were immediately so that there would be no worry about their safety. "Please could you also have them bring back dry clothes for us?"

"At once, your Majesty." The woman bowed her head low, "Your Excellency." Her head dipped to Conrart with the same show of respect she had given Yuuri. Conrart was after all the future consort of the King and was soon due all that entailed. She was soon retreating, calling for several of the temple maidens to bring dry towels for the dripping pair.

There was a soft hush filling the courtyard as several maidens bowed to a rather small girl dressed in the oddly Japanese styled red and white clothing of a shrine maiden. Long silvery hair flowed behind her in a cascade right down past her knees, wide purple irises watched the pair of men.

Was this Ulrike? Yuuri had absolutely no idea what the woman looked like, only that she was the most likely to be able to assist him in his 'magical' issues.

"Ulrike." Conrart bowed his head in respect to her, before a tiny hint of colour flickered across his fine cheekbones when his gaze took in the several spears that had been slashed by his own sword within the sanctity of the Tomb of the Great One. It hadn't even crossed his mind where he was, only that someone was threatening Yuuri. "She is the Royal Medium and holds the highest position amongst all of the Tomb's shrine maidens."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, King Yuuri." She inclined her upper body in respect, only when she reached them did it become apparent that she was barely up to Yuuri's waist.

"Thank you, it's great to finally be able to visit... though the method of my arrival was quite unorthodox."

"Oh, wow, you really do have black eyes and hair, they are so mysterious." Her cheeks turned a soft pink as she gazed up at him in that now familiar 'awe' Yuuri got from many people around his kingdom.

"Thank you."

Her hand reached out towards Yuuri, Conrart tensing slightly in response but relaxed, knowing that Ulrike meant his beloved no harm. Her fingers lightly touched his wet raven locks softly, before flushing even more and withdrawing her hand.

"I was intending on coming here tomorrow." When he had time to himself to attend to his own private matters, like when he had talked to Gisela earlier. "I was quite hoping I would be able to meet you."

"You... wished to meet me?" Ulrike flushed even more with joy at such a notion, her hands reaching out to clasp both of Yuuri's, her tiny hands curling around only half of his own larger ones. "Truly?"

"Truly." He was quite grateful when both he and Conrart were given large towels, Yuuri wrapping it around himself as they were heading inside. "You were mentioned to me in passing the first time, but I realised that... you might be able to help me with... control issues." A small sigh escaped him, eyes closing for a moment as he felt the tickle of magic still fluttering through him from his own trip through the water trough and into the Tomb's main fountain. It was a little embarrassing for him to admit his rather large deficiency, but it needed desperately to be addressed.

"Control issues, Sire?"

"My magic is extremely unstable." Glancing back over his shoulder at the fountain, he grimaced slightly. "Such as ending up transporting myself without realising it. Useful in some situations but definitely not randomly like I did today." A cold hard lump slowly formed in his gut with the sudden realisation that he could have accidentally sent Conrart anywhere within the world because the other man had been pulled along with him.

A warm hand pressed against the side of his face from behind, thumb tracing the shell of his ear softly, smoothing back the raven strands. "I am well, my Love."

Yuuri let out a long sigh of relief, feeling Conrart take a step forwards and coil one arm around his waist from behind, just holding him gently like that. "I never want to put you in danger like that again."

"You'll learn to control it, I know you will succeed." The soldier reassured his husband. "We would both be grateful for your guidance in this matter, Lady Ulrike."

"I would be happy to assist."

"I'll arrange it so I have an hour free a day for lessons, if that is convenient for you, Lady Ulrike?"

"It would be wonderful, Sire!" She looked positively jubilant over the fact that she was being asked to teach someone as powerful in magic as Yuuri Shibuya at his own request. "Lord Weller is very welcome to attend."

"Could you, my Prince?" He asked softly, the affectionate term spilling from his lips, his head dropping back to rest against one broad shoulder, his lips brushing across the man's strong jaw. "You're my anchor." And the man had been from the start, pulling him back from the edge when he had needed it, those strong arms protecting him when the world shattered around him.

"Of course." Conrart's grip tightened just a little, hugging Yuuri and expressing his affection for his beloved. He had learned after their marriage that Yuuri constantly searched for physical touch from him, something that Conrart himself had always craved. No matter where they were, no matter who they were with, Yuuri still touched him. There was no hiding their love, no hiding the fact that he was important to their King.

"I'll make the arrangements, Sire." Ulrike was practically buzzing with excitement.

* * *

><p>"Conrart." Ulrike's voice stopped the tall man as he was about to follow after Yuuri to a chamber where they both could get dried off and changed after Ulrike had given them a tour of the Tomb and Hall of Oracles.<p>

"Yes?" He stopped and turned to regard her with serious cinnamon eyes.

"Something bad is about to happen to the King."

Conrart stiffened at that, his entire body going ramrod straight, his mouth opening once to question exactly what she meant by that, but knew that as in most cases, that was all the warning that could be given. "Thank you for the warning. No matter what happens, I'll protect Yuuri." He was about to turn away when she continued.

"And Conrart, if you should come to harm, it would greatly sadden King Yuuri."

"I know." He could still remember what had happened on the passenger liner they had been travelling on, the water serpents hissing and snapping at anyone that even considered harming him. Yuuri was fiercely protective of him, but just hearing someone else say those words made his heart clench in wonder again that Yuuri could love him so deeply. "I... I love him very much... as he does me."

* * *

><p>"Lovely." Yuuri was leaning in to press a soft kiss over Conrart's heart, his cheek lightly touching against the warm skin for a moment before stepping back. His fingers tapped lightly at Conrart's scooting them away as he took over the task of buttoning up his lover's shirt, carefully smoothing the crisp fabric back down over the broad chest, before tucking the ends into Conrart's pants, sneaking a few touches at that tight rear.<p>

"Yuuri..."

"Hush." The King grinned, lifting the black jacket from where it sat folded on a chair and helped the man into it, returning to his front to fix the buttons again. The fabric was wool and it was threaded through with strands of silver and bronze, the colours bringing out the flicks of silver in those changeable cinnamon eyes. "I like this on you." The sword belt and sword followed, being buckled at the man's waist. "It's my colour." The black of his husband's new uniform was Yuuri's little concession to himself, showing that he was quite possessive of his beloved, as much as Conrart was of him.

Conrart stood there silently, knowing that something was bothering the other man right at that moment, all the cheerful comments were just a touch forced. Sometimes it was just patience that got him his answers, other times it was a gentle touch.

"Am I going about this right, Conrart?" Both palms pressed against Conrart's chest, fingers lightly sliding over the strangely silky texture of the wool, a thumb fiddling with a button. "Am I... doing the whole Demon King thing right? It's like stumbling around in the dark, you have some pointers but what's truly is expected of you isn't very clear. I'm afraid of my own power at time, today is just evidence of what I can do... what if something had happened to you? What if the vortex..."

"It wouldn't." If there was one thing Conrart Weller knew about Yuuri was that there was no way that his lover could hurt him in any way when it came to the use of his magic. The memory of those serpents was enough to tell him that no matter how angry Yuuri was, he should never fear that power. "I trust you, every part of you, including your magic." Both his arms wrapped tightly around Yuuri, hugging the man to him and pressing his lips against the man's temple, reassuring the compassionate man who had filled his life with such joy.

"My strength." The words were soft against Conrart's throat, Yuuri leaning into his husband, feeling as if he was finally coming back home again. It was a sensation he coveted. "Do you know... Gunter is more than likely going to corner you too?"

"Pardon?" Conrart's head lifted slightly, one eyebrow lifting in question as he gazed down at the man in his arms.

"You are soon to be the King's Consort, Prince of the Great Demon Kingdom." Amusement actually tugged at Yuuri's lips at that, his lips brushing along his lover's jaw just for a moment. "Your duties... well... Gunter said that you will be responsible for more of the civil matters and political relations with other countries. Well that was what I could make out from his rambling."

Conrart blinked, actually considering the reality of what he was stepping into. Royal life was not unfamiliar to him, he had been raised as the son of the Maou and it had entailed a lot of different things, but it had been different for him. He had been the son of a _human, _one that held no rank amongst the families of the Great Demon Kingdom. He wouldn't just be Conrart Weller anymore... not just another soldier in the service to the King and the will of the Great One. He would actually hold rank over all of those who had seen him as being less than his own brothers because of his blood.

"Conrart?" Lips pressing together, he swallowed hard after a moment. Reality was something that kept catching up to them. "I know... it will change, a lot will for both of us when we marry here, but you are just as precious to this Kingdom as I am."

"I..." Shaking his head slightly, he offered Yuuri a wan smile, trying to absorb things that he had known but never quite acknowledged. "I'm not..."

"You have always been the voice of the people. I know that some of the time you spend away from my side is with the people of the villages and towns beyond the city. I realise how much they matter to you, they matter to me too. However, my duties from what I have come to understand them does not give me many opportunities to spend time with them. I want you to keep doing as you have been." Yuuri was the one offering a wry smile this time, his eyes closing as he felt the slight ache form inside of his heart. "Even though I miss you terribly every moment you are out of my sight, I need to hear the voices of the people. I need to hear your voice, Beloved."

He flailed slightly for words to say, anything to respond to the emotion in his lover's voice. "I love you."

And Yuuri couldn't help but smile.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Yuuri leaned out slightly, his face pressed a little against the glass, managing to catch a good glimpse of the carriage slowly approaching the moonlit castle as it moved through the city. Pushing away from the window, he set down the last piece of parchment he had been attempting to read earlier and hurried away from his desk, snagging his jacket from where it was half flung over the edge of a couch. Shrugging it on, he was buttoning it quickly and smoothing it back down into place, the last thing he needed was to look a mess for his guest.

"Doria." Yuuri paused only long enough to snag the maid's attention as she bowed her head and waited for him to pass. "Can you have the dinner I arranged brought to the eastern dining room? Make my apologies to the others in the main dining hall." Fishing into his pocket, he was withdrawing a small folded note, offering it out to her. "Please give this to Lord Weller."

"At once, Sire." She said with a smile, before she was hurrying away as he headed in the other direction.

Hurrying down the steps, he was moving through the hall and outside into the surprisingly crisp evening air. The carriage was just pulling up outside the main entrance, the driver descending to open up the door for the tall, greying gentleman who slowly stepped down before the steps of Covenant Castle.

"Lord Von Grantz." Yuuri was giving him a wide smile, grateful that the man had decided to answer his request for a meeting.

One thing had stayed with Yuuri after he had found out about Julia and the fact that his soul had once belonged to her... and also to the thoughts of the warrior who had attempted to abduct him twice. It had been only recently that he truly understood the pain Adalbert had to be in over the loss of the one he loved so desperately, it wasn't right for Adalbert to suffer alone. Also Adalbert needed to stop his activities on the borders that jeopardised Yuuri's attempts at peaceful first contact with some of their neighbours, the first in the last ten years.

"Your Majesty." The older man's intense blue eyes studied his face before offering a small smile of his own. "I was surprised to receive your message."

"I'm sorry about the handwriting." Yuuri laughed softly, reaching out to shake the man's larger hand, feeling the calluses that ran across that palm. This was not a man who had been idle in his life, in the father he could see much of the son. "I'm still attempting to get the hang of it. I hope I'm not inconveniencing you."

"Not at all, Sire."

"This way." He gestured towards one of the quieter wings of the Castle, knowing the last thing he needed right then was to have Gwendal or Gunter look into what Yuuri was doing until he knew that it might just work. He needed to do this himself. In a way he just needed to prove he was capable of doing his job on his own, it was silly of him he knew... but he wanted to see Adalbert brought back into the fold before he got himself killed or worse got some of the civilians killed because of his actions. Thankfully no one had died in the attack on the border village he had visited with Conrart, seriously injured yes, but thankfully no casualties.

Dinner was waiting for them when they arrived, two maids standing out of the way as they entered and he greeted them with a smile and his thanks as they were both seated at the smaller dining table. Yuuri settling himself and regarding the man for a very long moment as they sat no more than a few feet apart.

"It's Adal, isn't it?" The older man murmured softly, his blue eyes closing as pain flickered across his face at the thought of his only child and the fact that he had not seen him since he had left the Great Demon Kingdom.

"Yes. I'm concerned over his activities." And with that he related back both his first encounter with Adalbert when he had first arrived in the Great Demon Kingdom and the second, where Adalbert had thankfully retreated and for the moment disappeared. Yuuri however knew that there was one thing about parents that he could more than likely count on when it came to the Demon Tribe nobility, they were extremely protective of their children.

The Lord had paled visibly, looking even more frail than ever before, living up to the many centuries he had lived. "What do you intend to have done?"

He offered the man a reassuring smile. "He's not going to be hurt, Lord Von Grantz. It's the last thing I want. I might not care for his reckless actions, but I do understand his motivations." Yuuri remembered his talk with Conrart, the pain the other man had felt over what had happened to Julia, but also of the fact that even given what had happened Yuuri wouldn't change anything. "I know about Julia, I know what happened with Adalbert." It had been Gisela who had told him in more detail when he had returned to the castle from his 'trip' to the Tomb of the Great One. "His anger."

"Julia meant everything to him." Lord Von Grantz's voice almost cracked. "She helped bridge the gap between me and my son. The match was a fortunate one... one I was grateful for."Large gnarled hand settled onto the table, a part of the dinner having been eaten. "I do not know how to convince him to return, Sire. I have tried countless times over the years, but all I have said has fallen on deaf ears." Blue eyes glimmered with a loneliness of a father who had no other family but for his son, a son who had never returned home.

"I know something that might bring him back." But it also might break a lot of things wide open for everyone around him and also leave Conrart and Adalbert at each other's throats. A hand slipped into a pocket, fingers curling around the warm blue pendant that Conrart had given to him, saying that it was finally returning to its owner, that it was his to do with as he saw fit. Withdrawing it, he carefully set it on the table, being able to see the surprise in the man's eyes as he recognised exactly what it was.

"Is that...?"

"Yes." It was pushed across the table and into Lord Sigbert's Von Grantz's fingers. "I found out the reason why Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott died. Her soul was taken to Earth by Conrart Weller... to become the soul of the next Demon King as commanded by the Great One."

The pendant dropped from the man's fingers, clinking against the wood of the tabletop, his blue eyes staring at Yuuri with sudden comprehension.

"Yes." He nodded slightly, a wry smile touching his lips. "Julia's soul is within me. She is... a _part_ of me... the reason I can speak your native language, the reason I feel so at home in this place and know it inside of myself... even if I might not know why at times. However, I am _not_ Julia. I do not carry her memories, I am not _her_." And there was a difference, something that blurred reality and sat between the lines. "I am not the Julia that Adalbert loved, I cannot be that for him. My intentions to marry Conrart Weller are not because of what he felt for Julia."

"Are you... certain?"

One definite nod. "I'm telling you this, because I want Adalbert to know the truth, he deserves to know. I would have told him myself given the opportunity, but you can probably tell he's a difficult person to find. I regret that my existence is the cause of so much pain for him, that I am the reason... he has not come home to you. I want to fix that, he is welcome here, there might be tension between those here and him, but with time it will pass."

The aristocrat sat silently, his meal forgotten and his fingers only slowly curling back around the pendant that he had dropped. It was clear he was considering all he had been told, all that he knew. "You are right, he will come. He will be angry..."

"He already is." Though he had a definitely feeling he knew just how Adalbert would react to the fact that Yuuri, a man who carried Julia's soul was marrying the man who had loved Julia almost as much as Adalbert himself had. Conrart would be caught in between them all in this situation, which was not something that pleased Yuuri at all. The thought of anything hurting Conrart made his heart ache, but if this wasn't dealt with now it would only fester and be harder to deal with when Adalbert did learn later the finer details of everything. "It can't go on any longer. This whole situation has to be dealt with _now_, not later. I'm tired of knowing so many people are in pain over this, over my very existence."

"You love him, don't you?" Lord Von Grantz's expression softened with a spark of understanding. "Lord Weller?"

"More than my own life, Sir. I might not understand all of what Adalbert feels... but I think I can very well guess. The thought of losing Conrart... the thought of him being gone. I don't know if I could live with myself that way. It takes a strong man to be able to pull himself out of his grief as much as Adalbert has, enough to care about those villagers." Yuuri could still remember the face of one person who had shown a deep concern for Adalbert... _Gisela_. It was clear to him, Adalbert meant more to Gisela then he knew. "There are people here that do miss him."

"I will..." The man rubbed his palm across his face, looking worn and exhausted only by their short talk, but even Yuuri was emotionally drained by the words he had dragged from deep within him. "I will try again, Sire, I will tell him what you have told me. I will give this to him. I only pray that this ends well for all concerned."

"Please feel free to stay as long as you like at Covenant Castle, I would very much like to get to know you, Sir." He offered out his hand, the man hesitating before shaking it and he nodded slightly. "I hope we can speak again a little more tomorrow on this matter. There is after all much to think about."

* * *

><p>The night air had become quite cool, but Yuuri barely felt it as he stepped outside and into the torch lit darkness of the vast expanse of gardens that ran along one side of the castle's inner wall. The trees stood as dark sentinels in the night, but it was not those that held the man's attention, but the elegant being seated in the garden, moonlight spilling over him. The crisp white of Conrart's shirt stood out in a contrast to his tawny gold skin, the fabric almost seeming to glow in the silvery light.<p>

Approaching silently, Yuuri wrapped both arms around Conrart's chest and shoulders, hugging his husband, attempting to warm the chilled body in his embrace. "How long have you been sitting out here, my Prince?"

"I don't know." He responded honestly, not looking up at Yuuri, however, one hand did lift to lightly press against one forearm that rested over his chest. "A while... I did not attend dinner."

"I didn't have the stomach for it..." After what he had done. "Are you angry?" Chin coming to rest against one broad shoulder, he hugged him just a little more tightly. "Disappointed?"

"No."

That actually surprised Yuuri, his eyes closing as he just leaned against Conrart's back, content to know that he wasn't being pushed away. "You have every right to be. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to yell at me."

"For a few minutes I did, but..."

"But?"

"It is very like you, your limitless compassion." Conrart smiled wryly, sighing as Yuuri's warmth slowly began to soak into his chilled body. "I guess... I started to understand it from your point of view a little. I might not agree with your leniency when it comes to Adalbert..." He wanted to snarl at that name, wanted to hunt down the man who had threatened his beloved, though... though... "I only have one question. _Why_?"

Yuuri picked up the note that rested on the seat beside Conrart, settling himself down onto the cool stone and leaned against his lover, shoulder to shoulder. "I guess there are a few reasons why I want to have Adalbert return to the Great Demon Kingdom... some are a little selfish... some aren't. First is he needs to be brought back into the fold, he's a charismatic man... I want to be able to find peace with our neighbours, not war and at the rate he's going, he'll end up causing just that."

"Second... I feel _guilty_. For all Julia's acceptance of what was to come... she left me feeling guilty for being happy at being alive, of being able to be with you. I thought I accepted all that back on Vandavia. I thought I could accept it... but I can't. A man is being tortured by his own grief out there..." His finger pointed beyond the walls of the garden. "And I'm here with the one I love. You know I'm even jealous of my own soul? I'm jealous that she knew you first... that..." A forced laugh escaped his thought. "I'm not all filled with compassion all of the time." It was silly, but he was willing to admit how he felt to Conrart. "Lastly, Gisela."

"Pardon?" Now that had both of Conrart's brows shooting upwards in surprise.

"Gisela. She..." Yuuri couldn't hide his smile. "She was telling me about what happened after Geigen Huber was sent to find the Demon Flute, the fact that Adalbert swore he would never return because of what had happened with Julia. The fact that Adalbert's Father had refused to leave his home... If you heard the way she talks about Adalbert... It was obvious to me that her feelings towards him are more than that of a worried friend."

Now that shocked the soldier into silence. "I never..."

"I don't think anyone noticed, but maybe... just maybe..."

"I won't leave you alone with him." It was a statement that definitely showed that Conrart would not be denied this one thing. "Promise me, Yuuri. You won't be alone with him."

"I promise, Husband."

Conrart dropped his head forwards, forehead lightly resting against Yuuri's temple and just wrapping both and arms around the smaller man, holding onto him. "We will do this together, I want to be your strength."

"You always have been."

* * *

><p>"Yuuri?"<p>

The King turned slightly, gazing over at the handsome man who lay stark naked amongst the sheets of their bed, his body instantly reacting to the sight. Setting the book down, he stretched slightly as he lifted himself up from the chair by the fireside. "I'll be just a moment."

"Good book?" Conrart rested on his side, tucking one arm under his head as he watched Yuuri stripping off his shirt, unable to help the sound of appreciation that escaped him.

"Quite interesting. I have to admit, I like reading these texts rather than listening to Gunter talk about why the fifth Demon King had a hundred cats... and the other more obscure aspects of people I really don't understand. I don't mean to sound unappreciative of the effort Gunter has done to on my behalf, I am thankful every day for his and Gwendal's guidance... but... even I have my limits at times."

"Gunter is... very enthusiastic about serving you." Conrart admitted softly, even though he had actually approached his old teacher and expressed in no uncertain terms that Yuuri was _his_. Gunter had only smiled back at him and laughed, saying it was about time.

"You think?"

Conrart chuckled softly, his hand reach out towards Yuuri, drawing the man to his side of the bed, his mouth pressing lightly against Yuuri's stomach, wrapping both arms around his hips. Large palms stroked against the back of Yuuri's thighs, drawing his lover closer so he could tease a tongue lightly against his navel. Yuuri's hands dropped to curl into Conrart's hair, smoothing slowly through the strands, brushing them back away from that beautiful face.

Suddenly there was a soft knock at the door, one that made both men glance towards it and sigh.

"Lord Weller?" Samuel's voice echoed through the heavy wood of the door. The grey-eyed soldier frequently now being used as a messenger between Conrart and Yuuri, Yuuri being particularly fond of the friendly man the same age as himself.

"Yes?" Conrart dropped a hot kiss against Yuuri's slightly parted lips as he stood, his hands stroking down slender sides and hips, holding him close.

"Lord Von Voltaire asks if you could join him, there is trouble in the village, Sir."

"I will be there shortly."

As much as Yuuri wanted nothing more than to accompany his beloved down into town, he would be more of a distraction for the soldiers this time if he went. "Hurry back." He whispered, fingertips touching against the longer length of Conrart's hair which the man had been growing out after Yuuri had commented liking its softness.

"I will."

Conrart was tugging on his pants, and shirt, belting them into place, before smiling when Yuuri held out a heavy jacket and sword belt.

"I'm not going to have you catch a chill out there. Send word back to me when you know more, if you need me..."

Tugging his boots on, he nodded once, before slipping out through the door leaving, Yuuri behind and his heart along too. Moving swiftly through the corridors, he was righting his clothes, his hands slipping into his pockets and almost wanted to laugh when they came out with fur-lined leather gloves. It was surprisingly cold when he stepped outside, unusual for the warm days of autumn. Slipping on the gloves, he tucked the edges of them under the sleeves of his heavy woollen black jacket, a smile still lingering on his lips at the small thoughtful action of his beloved.

He found Samuel in possession of his horse's bridle, the young soldier offering him a smile. Before Conrart easily mounted and was already joining the others of his personal guard as they headed towards the gates, several carrying torches to light the darkened courtyard.

"You summoned me, Gwendal?" Both brows lifted slightly in question.

"Indeed, there is a commotion on the castle grounds." Gwendal stood beside Conrart's horse, his expression troubled. "People just walking in the streets are being attacked indiscriminately."

That was something serious and also told Conrart why he had been summoned from his bed by Gwendal rather than his brother handling the issue until they could find someone to replace Conrart as head of the castle forces. Conrart was better with the town's people than either of his brothers. "That is worrying. Double the guard inside the castle."

"That goes without saying." Gwendal reached out a hand to lightly rest it against his brother's arm. "I will see to his welfare."

"I'm counting on you." Conrart nodded once, before he was urging his horse into a gallop and heading out of the gates of the castle, several of his guard hurrying to keep pace with him.

* * *

><p>Yuuri Shibuya was restless.<p>

The King had paced the length of his chambers at least a hundred times, his nature getting the best of him. He was not one to sit still in a crisis, especially not when Conrart was out there somewhere. Padding barefoot over to the large wooden wardrobes, he tugged open one of the doors, hands pulling out two items that he had pilfered from when his lover had moved in with him. The large white shirt that he had first pinched when he had first arrived at Gwendal's castle and Conrart's uniform jacket. Both were overly large on him, but the heady scent of his lover on the thick wool made him sigh in some semblance of relief.

His sword belt soon followed, the King surprised to find that it buckled several spaces away from where he usually had it. The tiny bit of fat he had once had finally melting away under the training schedule he kept, making him feel quite good about himself. Socks and boots followed, and he practically buried himself within the olive brown woollen fabric, his dark hair falling over the pulled up collar of it.

Slipping out of his chambers, he was moving through the corridors, weaving his way through them and down to the quiet kitchens. A single maid stood by the still hot stove, a saucepan filled with heating milk and something that almost smelled like chocolate made him smile, despite the situation.

"Hello Sangria," Yuuri greeted after knocking softly on the door to the kitchens, not wanting to startled her too much. "That smells wonderful."

"Your Majesty." Sangria turned, her cheeks flushing bright red as she started at him bundled up in Conrart's jacket and looking a touch rumpled from his pacing and restless motions. "I thought you had retired for the evening... what can I do for you, Sire?"

"Do you think I can have a little of that and also some in one of thermoses?" His finger pointing towards the insulated drinking vessels, which had actually been a successful invention made by Anissina only a few days before. "Conrart is hopefully returning soon and I want to greet him with something warm."

"Of course, Sire." She smiled in delight at actually being able to not only serve the King, but also his adored fiancé. The obvious love between the two quite often warmed the world around the pair.

Soon Yuuri was downing a steaming cup, his eyes closing in delight as he sat there in the kitchens of the castle, unaware of the fact that his absence from his bedroom was about to be noticed by people definitely not invited into the castle...

* * *

><p><strong>The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Search them all!"

"Check over here!"

The sounds of the soldiers voices and movements carried through the dark streets of the Capital, Conrart gazing around him and took in every detail, his lips pressing together as something attempted to niggle at the back of his mind.

"Was anything over there?" Conrart's finger pointed towards one of the alleyways leading off the main street that ran through this section of the town.

A man hurried up to him, face flushed a little from his exertions. "Your Excellency." The man panted slightly, clearly out of breath from the run. "We haven't been able to find them anywhere."

Frustration flickered through Conrart, before he followed after the guard who directed him to the home of one of the people whom had been attacked only an hour before on the streets. Stepping in through the doorway, he was feeling something niggling at the back of his mind, something that someone had said to him recently, yet refused to surface.

His attention turned to the blonde man seated in a chair against the wall, his head thickly bandaged. The off-duty soldier's face was deeply troubled, confusion knotting his brows.

"So nothing was taken from you?"

"That's right, Sir." Voice slightly slurred, his brown eyes remained unfocused as they gazed up into Conrart's face. "I was struck from behind and blacked out. I didn't even see the culprit's face, only blackness..."

"What could that possibly mean?" The red haired soldier said from beside Conrart. "Nothing was taken from any of the victims. If it was a robbery..."

"If it wasn't a robbery..." Conrart's lips pressed together, his mind running rapidly through a number of scenarios. The tickle in the back of his thoughts becoming more insistent. "If that wasn't their goal... " A cold wash of fear burned its way all through him, chilling him to the bone as his fingers curled tightly, thumb brushing at the ring through the warm gloves. Ulrike's voice echoed through his thoughts, a warning about Yuuri being in danger.

Conrart was already sprinting towards the door, fear burning a hole through his heart at his own stupidity for ever leaving Yuuri's side. "Return to the castle at once!"

The half-breed vaulted onto the back of the first horse that he found, jerking hard on its reins and slamming his heels down into its sides, urging it into a headlong gallop towards the castle. His heart screaming with a icy terror into his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>YAAY! Crazy Cliffhanger again, possibly? LOL<strong>


	9. Part 9: Seeing Reason

**Author's Note: This chapter hints at a lot of different things to come. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing!**

**Hope you all like it!**

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Footsteps pounded against the hard stone of the corridor, bouncing through the long corridors of the castle.

Gwendal suddenly jolted when he abruptly sensed a presence to one side of him, his grip tightening around the hilt of the sword that rested before him, chin jerking around to stop at the sight of Conrart standing there in the corridor where moments ago nothing had been.

"It's reassuring to see the great Lord Von Voltaire standing guard himself at the doors of the King's chamber."

"I was already making the rounds." Though Gwendal relaxed slightly, his blue eyes sweeping over his brother's face and offering him a small smile.

"How is he?" Conrart knew there was still a lot to be done that night, but couldn't help the sick feeling that swam around in his gut.

"Restless." Gwendal's head turned towards the main door to the King's chambers, though his brow did knit together for a moment over the fact that it was surprisingly quiet within, when for quite some time he could hear the soft sound of feet pacing across stone. "Though he might have finally fallen asleep."

Conrart let the bottled up tensions lowly drain out of him, his fingers slowly beginning to uncoil from around the hilt of his sword. "The attacks were apparently not those of ordinary robbers, nothing was taken from the victims." He moved towards the door, hand lightly resting against the wood, surprised by the fact that he would hesitate to open it. His hand dropped down, curling around the knob, grasping it firmly.

"I don't like this situation."

Conrart twisted it, pushing the door open and stepping into the room lit only by the warming glow of the fire. His cinnamon eyes turned towards the bed, hoping to find Yuuri curled amongst the blankets, but it was empty. The sheets and blankets only pushed back on his side of the bed where he had been resting earlier while Yuuri had been reading one of his 'by touch' books that he seemed to favour over written texts.

"Love?" Stepping further into the room, he scanned the space, listening for one long terrifying heartbeat for the sound of Yuuri moving about the vast space.

Silence.

"_Gwendal_." His voice cracked, his body already beginning to turn, fear screeching through every part of him. "Gwendal! _**He's not here**_."

"What?" The older of the brothers stepped into the space, taking in the lack of a King and turned startled eyes onto Conrart. "I checked myself no more than ten minutes past. He was here." A finger pointed to a spot before the vast windows. "Damn." Gwendal was already out in the hall, shouting for the pair of guards to come quickly...

"What's all the yelling about?" Yuuri stood in the corridor, obsidian eyes blinking slightly at the brothers in confusion. "You'll wake the whole castle at this rate."

"Yuuri..." Conrart's relief was palpable, his cinnamon eyes softening at the sight of his confused lover standing there in the light of one of the torches in one of Conrart's own uniform jackets, a sword belted at his waist. A dozen quick strides had him at his lover's side and his arms immediately coiled around Yuuri tightly, practically lifting the smaller man right off his feet with that one action. The half-breed buried his face into the curve of Yuuri's neck and throat, relief flooding through him. "Love... _my_ _Love_." His murmured words were hoarse, his gloved hands clenching into the fabric of his lover's clothes.

"I'm happy to see you too, Conrart." Yuuri was finally settled back on his feet, the man tipping his head back slightly to gaze up into Conrart's eyes. "I was waiting for you... I told the guards. There were two with me at the stables... that was where I thought you would most likely come first..." A wry smile tugged at his lips. "I was hoping to be there to greet you." He lifted the thermos upwards from where it was tucked into one of his pockets. "But you went straight up the main steps before I could reach you."

He couldn't form words for a short while, just soothing himself with the fact that Yuuri was tucked into his arms, safe and unharmed. "I wasn't here ten minutes ago, Gwendal. I've been gone at least half an hour."

They all stilled at that, two pairs of eyes falling on Gwendal and they all became aware of the fact that it honestly hadn't been Yuuri in their bedchamber. The oldest of the former Maou's sons bowed his head slightly and gritted his teeth together at the fact that he had made such an error. "I will see to this at once. For now, it is best if you remain with his Majesty, Conrart."

"We can sleep in your old quarters." Yuuri tipped his head back slightly, pressing a kiss against Conrart's jaw. "I've had them kept as they were." He was exhausted and nestled himself closer in against his lover's large warm body, cheek resting against the broad chest. "Tell us if you discover anything Gwendal."

With a nod from the charcoal-haired Demon, they were moving off down the corridor.

Yuuri tipped his head up and felt the warmth of the morning sun slanting down over his face, his eyes drifting closed for one long moment, relaxing as he lifted his arms outwards and sighed. It felt good to be in the morning air, though still a touch cold, it felt good against his hot skin. His morning had definitely started off on a rather nice note, waking to find himself in Conrart's arms, the man still sleeping peacefully when he had risen for the morning. He couldn't blame his beloved for his exhaustion, the night before had been tense for all of them.

* * *

><p>"Nothing beats..."<p>

"The smell of fresh morning air." Conrart finished, his long strides easily drawing him to Yuuri's side, his lips curving into a smile at the sight of his husband.

"I thought you might sleep a little longer this morning, Love, last night was wearing on all of us." However, he was moving forwards, his hand lifting up to slide through the soft strands at the back of his lover's neck and drew his head down. Mouth finding that warm, welcoming one, he lapped across his lover's lower lip, before slipping inside and deepening the contact with a groan of pleasure. It was a long minute before he pulled back, both of them almost swaying from the intensity of the kiss. "I'm just about to head out for my morning run."

"I'm coming with you." Conrart responded, expression intent.

"I welcome the company." Stretching slowly and spreading out his arms, he twisted around slightly, his sword clinging in its sheath. He had become quite comfortable with its permanent weight at his side, knowing it gave many comfort to know he was armed outside of his bedchamber. "Maybe when we get back we can do a little sword practice."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

><p>"Morning practice, sparring, a leisurely breakfast and a hot bath." His mouth turned upwards into a smile as he watched Conrart slide into the hot bath beside him, the smaller more private pool having become a favourite of theirs, especially for other activities. Guards and maids alike knew never to disturb them when they were in there unless it was a literal life and death situation. "This is definitely my favourite type of morning, one I get to spend with you."<p>

"_Love_."

Yuuri's head twisted slightly, gazing up into those silver streaked cinnamon eyes that watched him with a darkening interest. "Are you still hungry?" A grin broke out across his face when he felt the first caress of fingers against his thigh, the slow stroke running up along his spine and making him shiver slightly.

"Starving." The soldier's powerful frame stood waist high in the slightly milky green water of the mineral bath. It was quite obvious as he hovered close to Yuuri exactly how much he desired his King.

"I think so am I." Yuuri's hands lifting pressed against Conrart's chest, pushing the man backwards lightly, urging him to sit on the edge of the bath, exposing that wet hardness while Yuuri stood between his knees. Both palms stroked across thighs and knees, urging them apart a little more, enough that when he slowly sank to his knees in the water, his shoulders could rest between them.

Before Conrart could make a sound, Yuuri's mouth had curled itself around the head of that painfully hard erection, tongue slowly drifting around the firm flesh. Teeth tugging at it, he began a slow slide, mouth moving down an inch along that length, sucking hard as his head pulled back, teeth scraping over the velvety skin. Inch by inch, he was swallowing Conrart whole, feeling hands tangle into his wet hair, he practically purred as they caressed across his scalp. The low vibrations touched the tip of that length as it touched the back of his throat when he managed to relax and take him all in.

A husky groan escaped the half-breed, his head dropping back, lips parted as he enjoyed what his lover was doing to him, that tongue slicking and hot as it tormented him. One slender fingered hand touched against his balls, cupping them and squeezing, thumb teasing along the sensitive skin behind them. Conrart jolted, thrusting a little back into Yuuri's mouth, but knowing all he could really do was hold on for the hot ride his lover was giving him.

"..._Yuuri_..."

Yuuri smiled around what he had in his mouth, beginning to pick up speed in his movements, sucking even harder every time he reached the tip, tasting the hot sweetness of his lover on his tongue. A few more well placed jerks of his mouth and liquid fire spilled out of Conrart, sliding down the back of his throat as he swallowed with a moan of his own. His body was vibrating with its own hunger. Conrart had come with a roar, his head thrown back, eyes almost a pure dark silver in his pleasure.

Conrart was still painfully hard despite his release, his hand catching Yuuri's jaw and drawing his lover upwards as he slipped into the water. Their mouths met in a hot heated tangle, Conrart tasting himself on his lover's tongue with a hungry groan.

The King was spun, body forced to bend as Conrart held him, almost unbalanced for a moment until his hands shot out to rest against the edge of the bath. A whimper of delight escaped him as an ankle locked around his own, spreading his legs and that hot length pressed intimately against the underside of his own as his lover shifted in closer.

"_Mine_." Conrart's hands were moving along the length of Yuuri's body in heated caresses that left him trembling. A mouth touched against the sensitive junction between neck and shoulder, biting down playfully, tongue sliding across the spot. One hand palmed Yuuri's own length, able to close all the way around it and the calluses on Conrart's sword hand moved roughly over the silky smooth flesh of his erection.

Hips lifting and arching backwards, he eagerly surrendered to his lover, body vibrating with need, always starving for the feeling of these familiar hands on him. Conrart's free hand ran from his navel and circled slowly upwards to brush across one nipple, flicking it, before two fingers caught the bud and pinched. Yuuri cried out, body shivering as the action was repeated again, both nipples throbbing ever so slightly before being stroked, the pad of a finger sliding back and forth over it.

"Say it." The soldier hissed into one of Yuuri's ears, nipping at the lobe and brushing his tongue over the sensitive shell. It was in a moment like this that Conrart could find the last little bit of reassurance he craved, his heart beating wildly in anticipation. "Tell me who you belong to."

"_You_." Yuuri's hips arched restlessly again, groaning as that hot length stroked and rubbed back and forth against his perineum. "I belong to you. I love you." Fingers curled against the damp stone, nails biting into it.

It was a powerful claiming, one that had Yuuri crying out, his voice echoing through the space when he was suddenly filled by his lover, the burn eased by the water, but the friction had him arching helplessly. Head thrown back, he gasped as Conrart penetrated him so deeply, his sweetspot practically burning as he drove again and again into Yuuri, hands continuing to stroke and torment him. Their bodies moved together, Yuuri pushing backwards, welcoming the invasion, muscles clenching tightly around Conrart.

"Damn." Conrart groaned, his cheek pressing against Yuuri's shoulder, lips tickling against his throat in tiny desperate kisses. "I love you." The words were soul-felt, raw with so much passion that spilled over from deep within the half-breed.

His hands dropped away from Yuuri's chest and just gripped his hips holding him as he took him roughly. With each thrust, his length burned a heated path through unprepared muscles, making Yuuri twist in his grip, body bucking back helplessly. This was unlike their usually more slow joinings. Emotions were strung tight through both for different reasons, but it was in this moment where they could express them with no barrier between them.

Heat swelled through them both, trembling and frantic to fall over that edge, their movements no longer timed.

Conrart exploded first, his body releasing a wave of burning fluids deep within that tight body, hips pressed firmly against that tight rear. His hand curling around Yuuri's and jerking him off between calloused fingers and Yuuri fell too, their voices mingled in the space, muscles clenching and draining Conrart completely.

It was only Conrart's stubborn strength that kept them both on their feet, both arms sliding around Yuuri and hugging the man tightly to him, not withdrawing from that warm body. Damp sweat slicked hair cling to his face and nape, his breath hot as it fanned across Yuuri's ear. "I love you." Tongue flicking over the shell of it, he bit down lightly, their cheeks brushing, before he squeezed the smaller man lightly, their bodies fitting together perfectly. "I love you so much, Yuuri. If anything were to happen to you..."

"Nothing will, my Prince." Yuuri's hand rested over one of Conrart's arms, leaning back into him and smiling softly.

Yuuri and Conrart remained like that, bodies still entwined below the water, Conrart's arms coiled tight around his husband, content to remain there forever if he could.

Suddenly there was a clatter of boots against stone.

"Your Majesty!" Gunter came barging through the doorway, cloak flapping behind him as he came. "Majesty, there's trouble! Serious trouble!" He stood there at the edge of the bath, his face which was already flushed slightly from his head long run turned a brilliant red as he realised his first mistake of intruding on Yuuri Shibuya's bath.

Conrart's entire body had stiffened, his cinnamon eyes narrowing sharply on the royal aide, the colour quickly beginning to swirl with silver sparks as his eyes met Gunter's and he knew the man was looking at Yuuri. His lover was flushed with satisfaction and the heated loving they had just shared, but also Gunter could see the scars, the ones Yuuri hid from the rest of the world, besides Conrart. The marks that showed the years of beatings he had endured because of his sexual orientation, the marks of betrayal he had suffered at the hands of those he had trusted.

For once Yuuri's face showed a spark of anger towards Gunter, his jaw clenching. Where usually he was easy going and could easily forgive things perpetrated by those around him, his baths with Conrart were well known to be off-limits and their privacy respected. "You will wait outside in the hall, Lord Von Christ, Conrart and I will be with you shortly."

Gunter paled, his body jerking back at the tone that was directed at him, knowing that his perusal had not gone unnoticed, by either man or the fact that he had seen the scars.

"In future you will respect our privacy and wait outside the door. We can hear you well enough from there." Yuuri brushed his fingertips across Conrart's jaw softly, kissing the man's mouth softly as Gunter rapidly retreated, knowing exactly what he had walked in on.

"My apologies, Sire..." Gunter rapidly retreated out through the doorway.

"We should invest in more doors." Yuuri grumbled softly.

* * *

><p>"This way, Sire." Gunter was still a touch pale as he regarded the King and Conrart with a wary glance.<p>

"Now I know where they put all the doors." Yuuri mused softly, his anger finally evaporating when he felt fingertips stroking softly against the small of his back and his head tipped back to gaze into Conrart's troubled expression. He took a moment as he stood on the landing of the massive chamber to study every inch of the vast space that resided under part of Covenant Castle and was surprised by just how many things were down there. "These are all treasures?"

"They are national treasures, Sire, passed down through the Great Demon Kingdom. The spoils of war taken by successive generations of Demon Kings as well as offerings from the lands with whom this Kingdom has exchanged gifts and political favours."

"Quite impressive." He glanced back with a smile to spot Wolfram and the guards who had joined them as they entered the massive treasure vaults of Covenant Castle.

"This object here is a rarity that the twelfth Demon King had carved by the greatest sculptor in the land." Gunter gestured to a large Beckoning Cat who stood as tall as Wolfram, looking quite ridiculous amongst the other trinkets and items that filled the space.

"_Gunter_." Conrart's reply was sharp.

"I apologise." He hurried forwards, not wanting to put himself any more into disfavour with the King. He stopped before where a bejewelled crown sat atop a velvet support, long trails of beads were woven down and around the length of it. "Just look at this!"

Yuuri could immediately see what was wrong. Where a gem should be rested in the forefront of the crown, a teardrop space was void of anything but a well crafted space to hold it. His brows drew together as he sniffed the air, surprised to find that this part of the room didn't smell like the rest of the space they had moved through, the musty, stale air seemed to be filled with a touch of smoke and the acrid tang of burnt materials.

"The gem of the Dragon King!" Wolfram was shocked by its absence.

Yuuri however was already stepping towards it, his hand reaching out to lightly touch the metal around where the gem had been pried loose from its tiny curved claws that held it in its setting. It felt surprisingly undamaged. "Whoever did this had the proper tools for the job. It wasn't just pried loose with any old chisel."

"Who was the first to spot it?" Conrart questioned one of the guards, his lips pressed together and his expression grim. First the shadows that had found their way into the King's very chamber under Gwendal's nose and now the gem was missing.

"A moment ago, while we were out on patrol we discovered that the door was unlocked. The lock hadn't been forced. We entered the chamber to investigate and we found it like this."

Wolfram let out a growl of anger, launching himself forwards and seizing one of the guards by his uniform front. "You lazy fool! How could you let something like this happen on your watch?"

"That is enough!" It was Yuuri hand which gripped Wolfram's wrist, squeezing once and telling the boy to calm down or face Yuuri's own anger over the mistreatment of the soldier. "Release him at once, Wolfram. There is no need to treat the guards like this, they reported this incident immediately."

Wolfram immediately released him. Hands on hips and cheeks flushed with a hint of embarrassment over letting his anger get the better of him.

"I do not think the two events are linked." Conrart added softly. "Why would they be seen in the King's chambers and also only take this one gem when there are so many others that they could have taken."

"Does anyone else smell that?" Yuuri's head turned slightly, sniffing the air again and inhaling, definitely catching the whiff of smoke that lingered in the air. It seemed so out of place.

"Majesty?" Gunter blinked slightly, his lavender eyes gazing into Yuuri's own.

"Smoke and something... acrid." Brows coming together, he offered Gwendal a small smile when the nobleman appeared amongst the others who had surrounded him. "You have already started questioning the servants and guards about any activities spotted around here?"

"Yes, Majesty." Gwendal's lips were pressed into a thin line, his navy blue eyes dark with guilt and concern. "Sire... if you would permit me to continue..."

Now it was Yuuri's turn to blink at the sudden change in Gwendal's usual manner towards things. Stepping towards Gwendal, his hand reached out to lightly rest against one broad shoulder lightly, letting the heat from his hand soak into the green wool. "Last night..."

"I made a _mistake_, Sire, one that could have cost you and my Brother..." Jaw clenching, his back stiffened and he looked as if one hard tap would shatter him. "I was charged with your protection."

"And I'm perfectly fine." The stress of everything had been getting to them all, last night's infiltration of the castle, the preparations for one of the largest celebrations of the Demon Kingdom had yet seen to celebrate the engagement of Yuuri to Conrart. Also the private matter concerning Adalbert still weighed heavily on the minds of the royal pair...

"Your Majesty... the scars..." Gunter's lavender gaze fixed on Yuuri's dark jacket and what the long sleeves of it hid.

"_Scars_?" Gwendal's expression darkened.

"We need to focus on the gem." Conrart interrupted.

Yuuri's obsidian eyes closed and he let out a sigh of relief when he felt the fingers of Conrart's hand slowly lace through his own, warm and comforting. "Indeed, Gwendal, if you can continue your questioning of the staff, the rest of us can examine the treasury and make sure that nothing was missed."

Yuuri let out a quiet sigh, stretching his arms slightly, almost letting out a groan when fingers dug into tightly knotted muscles in his shoulders from stooping over so much. Thumbs worked across his shoulderblades, fingertips digging in above his collarbones, rapidly working out the stress and strain. His head dropped forwards, a soft moan of pleasure escaping him while his black hair framed his face. "Have I ever told you how talented your fingers are?"

"You have on occasion." Conrart smiled, dipping his head to drop a tiny kiss just to the side of his lover's throat before allowing his hands to drop away from his lover. "For a variety of different reasons."

"You're hired." Smiling over his shoulder in return, he rubbed a palm against the back of his neck, some of the stress sliding out of him at just those simple few moments under Conrart's touch. "I think I could definitely use someone like you. You not only give wonderful massages... but you also can act as a bed warmer... and..."

The half-breed chuckled softly before returning to his task with a shake of his head and grin on his lips, leaving Yuuri once more to his examination of a variety of items, hoping to discover a clue amongst them.

Suddenly Yuuri jerked back with a hand covering his mouth and nose as a rather awful stench wafted up from a box he had been examining. "What is that stench?"

"Oh, hey, would you look at that! This is a specialty of the Rochefort District." The guard beside Yuuri lifted up what appeared to be a frog of some description, clearly dead and clearly old. "It's an ultra-rare gourmet delicacy."

"I think I'll pass." Yuuri remarked dryly. He turned to regard the royal aide who was examining boxes set along the shelves behind him. "Have you discovered anything, Gunter?"

"No tangible clues yet." Gunter reached up for a box, both hands closing around the dusty container as it sat on the top shelf of the cupboard. As it was drawn forwards and tipped towards him, something golden slipped down from where it had been resting on top of the box and straight down onto Gunter's head. Immediately the man set the box back, his hands dropping to his scalp, touching the band that was now firmly settled onto his head. "What is this? I can't get it off!"

Yuuri blinked sharply.

"How about this?" One of the guards lifted a blue scroll up from where it had been dropped on the floor and knocked to one side.

"What is it?" Yuuri asked softly, gazing down at what the guard held.

"It appears to be some kind of document."

The fact was, through all his examination of the texts in the room, nothing looked as fresh or _clean_ as this particular document did. "Good work." Yuuri reached out a hand for it, nodding once when he accepted it and gestured for the guard to continue searching.

"Your Majesty!"

Yuuri turned around completely towards Gunter, both raven brows lifting as his fingers curled a little more fully around the scroll. "What is troubling you, Gunter?" The King approached his aide, blinking slightly over the fact that he appeared to be playing tug-of-war with a circlet of golden metal which apparently seemed glued into place. "Gunter?"

Suddenly Gunter clutched his head, groaning in pain as Yuuri stopped beside Gunter. The man rasped out several more sounds of pain before retreating away from Yuuri, literally kneeling in the corner of the filthy space. "Your Highness, please wait." The man fought hard with the object, but was losing rapidly against it.

Immediately his earlier anger at Gunter dissolved away completely in the face of his obvious pain, while he moved towards the man again. "What is it, Gunter?"

Suddenly the man was groaning rather dramatically and fled away from Yuuri as if his head was about to explode, disappearing around the corner of one shelf and vanished behind it.

"Gunter?"

"Please... stand back!" Gunter looked... pathetic. "Whenever your Majesty approaches, my head..." His fingers tugging at the object still wedged on top of his head.

"Go see Anissina and summon Gisela." Yuuri ordered the man, knowing that knowing Gunter, he would attempt to combat this on his own. Even though Anissina was... dangerous at the best of times, she still would know far more about such things than anyone else in the castle and wouldn't stop until she had freed Gunter.

"Yes... Sire." Gunter fled the room, his wail echoing behind him.

"Karma?" Conrart questioned when he stepped up beside Yuuri, both of them watching Gunter Von Christ's rather loud departure from the room.

Yuuri shook his head but couldn't help a wry smile at that. "Quite possibly." Before his attention turned towards the scroll still in his hand and he lifted it up, fingering the binding around it. Carefully unravelling it, he was spreading out the length of it and let out a sound of irritation as he stared at the familiar symbols but was unable to make it out due to the handwriting involved. He still preferred reading using the raised script because it felt surprisingly natural to him, but he offered it to Conrart, hoping he would have better luck reading it.

Wolfram moved over to join them.

Both Wolfram and Conrart stiffened after reading for several moments.

"What does it say?"

"It's an... IOU from Mother... for the gem." Conrart answered after thinking of how to explain it in terms Yuuri was familiar with, both brothers however were embarrassed over the entire matter.

"Well at least there is no need to panic about the gem now." Yuuri shook his head and let out a quiet sigh. "Though hopefully we can have it returned soon, I think Gunter will drive himself mad knowing it's away from the castle." Turning to Samuel as the grey-eyed guard appeared at his call, the man accepted the scroll. "Take this to Gwendal, and if you see Lord Von Christ, please inform him as well that the Gem is apparently with Lady Cecilie. Though I wonder how Cecilie got the gem out of the castle..."

"At once, Sire."

* * *

><p>Yuuri brushed at his hair, a fine cloud of dust exploding outwards from his hair and he coughed a little. Sliding off his jacket, he shook it, watching as a second larger cloud erupted from it. This was quite embarrassing, but he didn't feel like attempting to wash dust out of his hair, it would more than likely stick to it rather than come out. Rubbing his fingers through his raven locks, he freed most of it before leaning against the base of the statue out in the gardens.<p>

A tingle raced through him as awareness struck.

Yuuri stilled, his back to the gardens as his hand dropped down to the hilt of his sword, curling around the leather and metal. Most weren't aware of the fact he was almost as good as Conrart when it came to wielding it, thoughts outside of the castle were definitely not aware of it and more than likely expected his was just for show. Conrart had sensed it too. The warrior having drifted away from him, having murmured something about bringing them tea, but he knew he was nearby. Conrart didn't coddle him. It was one thing he thanked Shinou for, Conrart knew his abilities and allowed him to fight when the situation allowed.

Suddenly from the bushes, several black clad men who could only be described as ninjas filled the garden before him, at least three of them, clearly intent on kidnapping or killing him as they had more than likely planned to do the night before.

"Yuuri!" The sound of Conrart's voice stirred him into action.

Conrart's blade flashed in the warm afternoon sunshine, coming at them from behind as Yuuri drew his own blade. They had them pinned between them, determined to find out exactly who they were and their purpose. The ninja's responded in kind, two going after Yuuri clearly not realising that Conrart was more than likely the bigger threat.

His blade sung as he parried the first few blows that were turned on him, meant to stun him as they used the flats of their swords, but he gave them no quarter, deflecting their attacks with practiced skill. He and Conrart shared a look, both men actually grinning as they fought together, driving the three men towards each other.

The ninjas were quickly coming to realise that they had ended up misjudging Yuuri completely and so they began to hurriedly retreat. All of them shifting back and away, one fleeing up somehow onto the statue of the angel, their acrobatic skills quite impressive. The lead ninja whistled, a sharp call...

The two other ninjas were rapidly approaching the first, the leathery flap of wings drew Yuuri's attention to the members of the Flybone tribe who were coming in over the walls. Picking the closer of the two to him, he charged, the flat of his blade sweeping around with such force that it knocked the air out of the man's lungs as it slammed hard against his stomach doubling him over.

Conrart's hand came down against the back of the man's neck, sending him to ground, just as the other two vanishing upwards and over the walls through the aid of the 'bonies'. The man sagged into unconsciousness on the paving stones between Yuuri and Conrart, both of them scowling down at him.

* * *

><p>Gwendal sat at the table, his jaw clenching, the planes of his face were illuminated by the flickering oil lamp that rested on the table beside him. His fingers curled, a cold burn of anger surging through him over the fact that once more these worthless beings had gotten past his well trained soldiers. "So this was the only one you were able to catch?"<p>

Frowning slightly, he nodded once. Yuuri not wanting to risk the use of his magic in bringing down the other two.

"Scum, confess, who put you up to this?" Wolfram's palms slammed down onto the edge of the table before the unmasked man, green eyes blazing with that hot temper of his.

The man flinched away, his jaw gritting together, clearly not about to say anything, though his eyes flickered between the stoic, cold face of Gwendal Von Voltaire, to the openly hostile Wolfram and then to the deadly calm of Conrart Weller. No matter how dangerous Gwendal looked at the moment, everyone knew it was Conrart Weller who was the most vicious, especially when it came to someone even thinking about harming Yuuri.

Yuuri was by the doorway, silent and still, not interfering when it came to this interrogation. Every person in that room knew he wouldn't allow them to torture or kill this ninja. He would answer for his crime, but he would not die for it. Gunter stood against the wall near the window, his back to everyone, his head against the cool stone looking utterly miserable, but needing to be there to protect their King.

"I have no regrets killing you here and now for what you attempted to do." Conrart's voice was a low silky threat, his cinnamon eyes a stormy silver, glinting in the light and sparking with hatred. However, he didn't move from where he leaned against the wall to one side of the table, arms crossed over his chest. The lion within Conrart was snarling a warning, his expression harsh and unyielding.

"Unless you confess now to everything." Gwendal was attempting to prevent the dirty blonde haired soldier from practically wetting himself with fear as he glanced towards Conrart.

"I... I can't..." He breathed, eyes immediately darting back towards Conrart the moment the man began to push himself off the wall.

"Brother, give him another chance." It was Gwendal that acted as the soothing influence, or at least pretended to. His dark blue eyes studying Conrart's face and knowing that Conrart was more than willing to end this man's life for attempting what he had. "Is it not our King's way to grant mercy to those who are honest?" One brow lifted towards Yuuri.

Conrart's sword scrapped against the inside of its scabbard as it was slowly beginning to be withdrawn from it. The razor sharp edges of it catching in the light and making their prisoner jerk back in awareness that there was an actual threat present.

"I confess!" The man suddenly jabbered, eyes wide and staring at that blade in fear. "I came here on Lord Von Spitzweg's order."

That surprised Yuuri, his dark eyes catching the glint of emotion that stormed through Conrart's features at that, seeing the stiffening of Gwendal's back.

"So it was Stoffel." Gwendal remarked to clarify it to all in the room.

"He simply wishes to meet the new Demon King, its his desire to convey a personal message to him."

"If he wants an audience with his Majesty, he should go through the proper channels."

"The truth is, his Excellency wishes to speak with him alone."

"So he wishes to speak with the King without any of us present."

"I wouldn't do that." Yuuri's voice was soft, when he stepped away from the wall, his raven locks framing his troubled features as he made his way over to Conrart, resting a comforting hand against his beloved's chest soothingly. "Not when it comes to Stoffel."

"He wants to get into your good graces to reclaim his..."

"I would never allow such a thing to happen." His jaw gritted, well knowing the story from more than just Conrart and Gisela, but also managing to get it out of several others that had been present during that period in the Great Demon Kingdom's history. "His greed has cost this Kingdom enough already. However..." His fingers lightly pressed against his forehead lightly, gesturing for both Gwendal and Conrart to follow him out of the room.

Out in the corridor the two men stood before Yuuri, both actually waiting to hear his views on the matter before voicing their own.

"We cannot openly pursue him over this, no matter what that man in there tells us, it is not solid evidence against Stoffel. Testimony can be corrupted, people bribed to say anything." Twisting around, he ran his hand through his hair, knowing that the event scheduled only two days hence would definitely not let any of them relax for even a moment. "Stoffel has been invited to the engagement ball because he is the head of the house of Spitzweg."

"The other matter?" Conrart questioned softly, eyes reflecting his concern about everything that had been occurring and also the news that had recently arrived only that morning.

Yuuri sighed, his eyes closing for a moment and he leaned a little more heavily into Conrart's body as he knew that Gwendal's reaction would probably downright explosive to what Yuuri had done.

"_Other_ matter?" Gwendal looked quite ready to explode, or at least have smoke come pouring out of his ears. Between the missing gem and discovering it was his mother responsible, the two attempts to kidnap Yuuri by the ninjas within the castle grounds and the arrangements made for the engagement ball... this was probably definitely not what he needed to hear.

"This morning, a letter arrived from Lord Von Grantz. You are probably aware of the fact he visited here a short while ago, it was during that time I had several discussions with him over his son and Adalbert's actions to date."

"What about _Adalbert_?"

"He will be arriving in time for the engagement ball, he was invited as part of the Von Grantz family. He knows the truth about my soul."

"_What_?"

"Adalbert knows that my soul was once Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott's." Yuuri's dark eyes met those of Gwendal Von Voltaire for one long heartbeat, his jaw clenching slightly. "It was by the grace of Shinou that her soul was to become that of the next Demon King."

Gwendal's expression was startled, before his eyes fixed on Conrart, "You of this?" Then the nobleman actually jolted back a step, actually coming to a sharp conclusion. "You carried _Julia's_ soul to Earth?"

"Yes." Conrart remarked softly, his fingertips softly brushing against Yuuri's dark hair, his lips touching softly against his lover's temple. He inhaled the sweet fragrance that clung to his skin, the mix of herbs and that hint of something all Yuuri's own. "However, it is not because its Julia's soul within Yuuri that I love him. Yozak thought as much and learned quickly that it's not true."

"That... explains much." Gwendal rasped, remembering Gunter's comments about the fact that even though their King could speak perfectly, he was still struggling with written version of their language where the touch script was easily read. "However... do you both realise exactly what you've done? Adalbert is a..."

"A _man_ who lost the woman he loved. A man who could find no reason for her death." Yuuri sighed softly, eyes closing for a moment, wishing that he could stop the swirl of emotions that burned so fiercely within his gut. "She _accepted_ her path, accepted and felt no regret over her actions. However, I'm not so fortunate." One hand clenched into a fist. "Adalbert Von Grantz lost the woman he loved so that I could be born, it matters to me... it matters that he is still unhappy. However, he is also destroying swiftly any chance we have of finding peace with countries like Svelera."

It had been a Sveleran village that had attacked one of their own during the first part of Yuuri's time in the Great Demon Kingdom, the drought in the country greatly worrying Yuuri. Also whispers had come to his attention of women and members of the Demon Tribe who were being persecuted by the humans and were held in hard labour camps. It _had_ to stop.

"Though Cavalcade stands as allies, others still see us as a military threat to them. I do not want war, I will never sanction it." His expression showed the fact that he was looking at matters that were far bigger than just personal when it came to Adalbert Von Grantz. "Adalbert isn't evil, no matter what he did at Vellandenberg, I saw the worry in his eyes over the plight of the human villagers. We all know of the suffering of that village... the starving children." Sighing softly, he rubbed his face with one palm. Closing his mouth, he wouldn't continue on about that particular issue, it wasn't the time and place. There was time yet and hope that an open dialogue could be started with the rulers of Svelera. Yuuri could not ignore the suffering of so many for too much longer, especially not when there could be innocent women and children involved.

"I have reasons for what I've done, Gwendal, I will explain them in time, but not now. Right now... we need to consider what is to be done about Stoffel."

* * *

><p><strong><strong>I have deviated a bit from the anime in some regards to accommodate things that are in the changed plot line, for example the Engagement Ball, (I've honestly wanted to do that for ages). Adalbert's return to the Great Demon Kingdom (I also admit I wanted that too), I've never had a chance to explore more of his character before and I really do want to have him confront Conrart openly over Julia and Yuuri. The 'Gem of the Dragon King' was a more minimised plot, it really didn't fit with the rest of it. <strong>**

**Okay! on to the next chapter (pulls out anime episode and settles down to watch).**


	10. Part 10: Shadows Lurking

**Author's Note: This chapter deviates significantly from some events in the anime, but it will get a bit more back on track next chapter. LOOOL However, this just lets us all enjoy a different take on what _could_ have happened. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing? Where have I heard that before.**

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Soldiers move! Go fortify the guard at the state guesthouse." Gwendal directed the soldiers out of the room, finally gaining a little privacy and gazing at the back of Gunter who stood by the window, looking as if he were an abandoned puppy. "The army remains on standby, it is the best we can do at present given the nature of these celebrations..."

"I see." Gunter continued to gaze out of the window, his lips pressed together in a sharp line, fingers curling slightly into fists.

"Conrart is with him, you have no need to worry. He is remaining in the castle grounds until the festivities begin in the city tonight."

"I should be with his Majesty." Gunter whispered, however feeling uncertain of how to deal the fact that he was actually a little attracted to the King himself. Yet, the scars... those silvery scars that covered skin that should have been untouched, left him uncertain and weary. How had they been caused? Who was responsible for such abuse?

"Don't do it, Gunter, right now you would only be an encumbrance in your current condition." One that was oddly amusing in its own way. Gunter had already been caught 'moping' in several places around the castle by both maids and soldiers lamenting the cruelty of the fates.

"Yes, but..."

"Just stay here and do what you can to assist his Majesty. There is still much to do before tonight." However, Gwendal, despite the lines of exhaustion that ran across face and the worry that lingered in his navy eyes still managed to find a smile. "There is still much joy to be found, Gunter, in this day. My Brother is happy and so is the King."

"Oh, how can I not be at his side to protect him at a time like this?" Gunter's hands clutched at his head, his expression could almost be described as heartbroken. "This thing, this horrid thing!"

"Do not despair! I will remove that accursed band from you!" Anissina suddenly appeared as if by magic. "The King himself _suggested_ by services." There was pride in her words, though she gave Gunter quite a look for having not come to her earlier over this matter as he had been instructed.

"Is it true?" Gunter whispered, his lavender eyes staring into her blue ones, clearly looking hopeful. "Can you really remove it?"

"From what I've observed so far, that ring has a potent curse on it. However, even the most potent curses are child's play compared to my modern inventions."

"Help me please."

"Don't be so rash, Gunter." Gwendal said from behind the royal aide, his eyes flicking wary glances towards Anissina, knowing that the moment Anissina got agreement out of either of them, they were both doomed.

"I'm prepared to take the risks in order to protect the King."

"Very well then, let's begin. Get ready to assist me, Gwendal."

All the man could do was groan, his fingers clenching slightly into fists and knowing that there was going to be little chance of him being able to assist in any of the preparations being made for the ball at the castle and the celebrations occurring down in the town square that the citizens had arranged to show their support to their King and his fiancé. Life never was fair...

* * *

><p>Yuuri tipped his head slightly to the side to regard the young man who stood beside him, taking in Wolfram's face as the youngest of the brothers stood beside him as guard. Leaning against the edge of the balcony railing, he looked out across the castle courtyard and then at the town that spread out before them bathed in the afternoon sun. A thousand bright colours lined each street, the sound of voices actually carrying on the cool evening breeze.<p>

"Is having a new Demon King really something that inspires that much happiness?" Yuuri knew the question was a strange one, but for once he wanted to hear it from someone who wouldn't lie to spare his feelings.

"We went through a very rough age."

"The war." Yuuri whispered softly, always aware of it no matter where he went the impact of something that had caused such loss and devastation at every level of society.

"It wasn't Mother's fault!" Wolfram snapped, his fingers curling into fists as they rested on the railing beside Yuuri's own. "He is the one responsible. _Stoffel_. I can't believe he's at it again. This day should be a celebration, not something that should be so overshadowed by his actions. He keeps hurting them... all those... I care about."

"I won't let him ruin this day." Yuuri offered Wolfram a reassuring smile, but knew that everything still weighed so heavily on the minds of so many.

"He lost Julia to that war." Wolfram whispered, unable to keep those words from slipping out of him, even though he knew Yuuri was the one Conrart loved now. "She died... while he was off attending to the war. It was horrific... an escalating conflict. So many lost their lives... we almost lost Conrart to that war, he was also mortally wounded... in his own way... I..."

"I won't let Stoffel cause anymore tears." He could still remember the hot tears that had burned down over his fingertips as Conrart lay with his head in his lap, weeping for all those who had been lost to a senseless war. Such pain still existed within Conrart and it would be there for a very long time yet, just like the pain that dwelt within Yuuri.

"Sire?" Wolfram's head turned slightly, brows coming together.

"Stoffel... anyone... I won't let them cause..." Letting out a rushed breath, he leaned his forehead against his clenched hands, letting out a slow breath. "The thought of what happened to him..." Yuuri's voice actually cracked. "What..." Something hot almost seemed to scald his fingers, his head jerked up and away, gazing down at the tiny droplet that slid down across the back of his hand and onto the stone of the rail.

Green eyes widened as they stared into Yuuri's face, watching as tears began to streak down the man's cheeks, leaving burning wet trails behind. "Sire... I... I didn't mean to..."

Yuuri staggered backwards slightly, his hand lifting to touch the wetness, drawing his fingers away to stare at them, almost unable to believe that there were tears continuing to fall to the ground. His heart _ached_ like it was caught in a vice at the memory of Conrart's trembling body in his arms, the soul-wracking sobs that had escaped from between his lips. The thought of Conrart in pain tore him apart inside.

The strain of the last few days was rapidly catching up to him, so many things weighed on his mind. He had lost his balance, his toes touching the edge of a dangerous drop, reality striking home. The journey had been full of acceptance... he had made choices that affected those around him and he was finally realising that all those around him were deeply affected by each and every choice he made. Looking into Wolfram's face, he knew that his acceptance of the duel... the fight with this young man had changed him. Gwendal as well. Things with Gunter were precarious...

It was the realisation that he couldn't keep clinging to his pain and he realised he was. His _scars_. He was still afraid, still afraid that when they knew the reason for them they would turn their backs on him. Conrart never would. Fear was a dark spark inside of his heart. He was still pushing so many away... still... lingering in the shadow cast by all those who had treated him like garbage.

Wolfram didn't look at him like he was a freak, there were no more hateful words about half-breeds that part of this boy had been washed away. He wanted that too. He didn't want to flinch away from his past.

He had told Conrart the words.

Yet, could he say the same words to Wolfram? Could he tell the younger man about what had happened to him?

Yuuri Shibuya needed to break the silence. He wouldn't be a victim any longer.

"In my world is it not acceptable to most to openly say that you are a homosexual." Yuuri felt the tears continue to burn down across his cheeks, but let them fall, his gaze which had been on the ground lifted and gazed into Wolfram's green eyes, meeting them squarely and not flinching away. "Many found out about my sexual orientation and they..." Fingers clenching into fists, he forced the words out. "They beat me. Friends I trusted in turned on me when they found out... disgusted... I bear the scars of countless beatings. I trusted in them... and they betrayed me to the bullies who did this to me."

Yuuri reached down, still not letting his gaze drop away from Wolfram's. He would not fear the outcome. Fingers curling around the edge of his shirt, he tugged it upwards, the fabric sliding up and revealing the countless scars that streaked across his skin, years of abuse at the hands of those whom wouldn't stop. Swallowing hard, he allowed it to drop back down, seeing the flicker of horror in Wolfram's eyes.

"I'm afraid, Wolf. I'm terrified every time I let people get close that when they know... they'll... they see me as nothing more than a filthy..." He couldn't say the words. "Your brother... Conrart was the first person to look at me, to see me... the _real_ me... he loves me." The last three words were whispered breathlessly. "Conrart loves me... and I would do anything to keep him safe. I want to trust again, I want to be able to trust everyone around me again."

"I... I didn't know." Wolfram whispered softly, but finally understanding a little more of what was within their Demon King and that this man had been forged from steel and was strong enough to face him. "You... you can trust me, Yuuri. I swear, I would _never_. I will never betray you."

"Brother." Yuuri tested the word, his dark eyes filled with relief, feeling another weight slipping off his shoulders. "_Brother_."

The blonde offered him a shaken smile, nodding once. Wolfram curled his fingers around Yuuri's, squeezing once. "You are part of our family and don't ever think otherwise. You belong here with us, with Conrart, Gwendal and me... and Mother when she's here."

Yuuri tugged on that hand, pulling Wolfram towards him and wrapped both arms around the smaller man, hugging him tightly, feeling Wolfram stiffen for a moment before relaxing. "You don't know how much that means to me. How much your words do mean to me..."

* * *

><p>Carriage after carriage rolled through the crowded city streets, banners flying like long streamers behind several, identifying each noble family as they were arriving for the early evening festivities occurring at the castle. There was something more to this occasion than there had been at the Coronation of the King, an atmosphere of true jubilation at being able to experience something with their King and his future consort.<p>

The people were becoming more relaxed, seeing the slow seep of peace settle from the castle and out into the surrounding lands. The King was one that did not scoff at hard work or seeing to things outside of the castle personally. The threat of another war seemed to be sliding further and further away day by day, the pain leaching out of the hearts of the people.

Yuuri watched it all from the large windows of his office which overlooked the castle grounds and city below, his hand resting on the edge of his desk, fingertips brushing against the long leather and metal box that spanned its length. It was only at the sound of the door that he turned away from the entrancing view of his home coming to life. Twisting his head just enough to glance over his shoulder, he smiled at the tall figure that was backlit by the torches running along the hallway.

"Our guests are arriving, they will soon be wanting both of us down in the hall." Conrart leaned against the doorframe, cinnamon eyes sweeping the length of Yuuri's black clad body, the edges of his white shirt showing beneath the richly embroidered jacket. A long cloak was clasped at his throat, the long fur lined length also a velvety black and sweeping down to the knee high leather boots. "You look beautiful, Love."

"And you, my Prince, look like you stepped right out of a fairytale." Waving the man forwards and to the other side of the desk, he couldn't help but grin up at his husband, feeling a thrill run up through his body to know that this man was _his_. "I have an engagement gift for you."

Cinnamon eyes widened in surprise, before dropping down to regard the large box that was being pushed towards him. "You... did not need to..."

"I wanted to. I picked it out myself." His grin widened, delighted by the fact Conrart hadn't expected it. "Go ahead, open it."

And a large hand reached out towards it, hesitating at the latch that kept the lid closed, eyes going from his lover's face down to the box before carefully sliding the latch out and up. The lid lifted on its hinges easily, revealing a long sword and black scabbard resting on a velvet lining. Its hilt and guard were etched with tiny images of lions, the blade bearing its own finely gilded inlay which looked like a vine running down the centre. Yuuri reached out and drew Conrart's hand to that section, guiding his fingers over the raised areas that actually cleverly inscribed with raised text done in something few could read.

"It reads, 'Beloved lion of the King, may you always know your place rests in my heart'." Yuuri's lips turned upwards at the corners for a moment, his head lifting a little. "I had to borrow one of your blades so I could get the weighing of it right. I commissioned the work on it myself, I hope you like it."

"Its... lovely." He slipped a hand beneath the hilt of the blade, feeling his fingers easily slide around the pummel, the weight of it perfect in his grip as he hefted it, feeling the balance of it. "Yuuri... this..." It was a work of art, a gift of something like this from the King himself was priceless and touched him as much as the gift of their pledge rings. "I don't know what to say..." Conrart found himself actually stammering, wide cinnamon eyes unable to lift from the beautifully crafted weapon.

"Well, I guess my choice of gift was appropriate." He had gone for practical, rather than some pointless flounce and fluff. "Here..." Yuuri carefully lifted the scabbard free and slipped the blade into it before exchanging it for the one Conrart usually wore. "Perfect."

"I..." Conrart tried to find words to say how much this meant to him... "I didn't..."

"You already gave me a gift, Conrart. One that is more precious to me than this entire Kingdom." The back of Yuuri's fingertips caressed down Conrart's cheek lightly. "Your love and your heart."

Conrart bent his head and kissed Yuuri deeply, expressing in that one kiss every ounce of love he had in him, everything he felt at such a touching gesture and those words. "You always know... exactly what to say..." His lips turned upwards and his rested his forehead lightly against Yuuri's, just standing there, their bodies close together, their love a tangible thing. "I love you." He responded softly to those earlier words.

"I think we should go down and greet our guests, I'm looking forwards to tonight."

* * *

><p>Adalbert Von Grantz stood amongst the columns that ran along the side of the massive hall, his eyes fixed on Conrart Weller who stood amongst a number of different noblemen and women. Anger simmered like a storm in a fragile teacup, ready to shatter and spill out into the world around him. The words of his own father continued to echo louder and louder into his ears, the facts that the King himself had conveyed to the old man. His fingers lifted to lightly touch the pendant that now hung around his neck, the cool blue stone settled over his heart.<p>

Why had Conrart been entrusted with Julia's soul? Why had it been this man who had been given such a task? There was still a part of him that didn't believe the claims, couldn't believe that Julia's soul was inside of the dark- haired young man he had met twice before. A cold dark rage settled in his gut over the fact that Conrart had claimed something that didn't belong to him. It seemed rather convenient that the reincarnation of Julia would be 'in love' with Conrart Weller. There was only one explanation for it. Their King had been deceived by Conrart, tricked into this match.

However, his view however was cut off abruptly when a beautiful woman drifted between himself and where Conrart was standing. His blue eyes blinking as they suddenly tracked her movements, surprised to see that she seemed to be searching for someone amongst the milling masses of people that had crammed themselves into the vast space. Adalbert straightened away from the column, his eyes darting back to Conrart for a moment, but the man had already moved away, vanishing from view... yet when he looked for the woman who had caught his attention, he could no longer see her.

Adalbert felt... _different_. His fingers touched his now short cropped blonde hair and completely clean-shaven face, even the side-burns had gone and it had softened his usually harsh appearance. Instead of worn riding clothes, the formal attire and cloak had replaced them, it had been so long since he had worn something like it, since he had been at a party like this. Plenty of people hadn't even recognised him when he had entered amongst other members from branches of his own family.

There was a life to this place, a strange odd sense of _peace_ permeated the entire room and also the people. It was clear that Yuuri Shibuya, the man who held Julia's soul truly was the Demon King after all, his very presence lighting up the space.

"Found you." A soft feminine voice suddenly said from his elbow, a gloved hand lightly touching against his arm.

The man almost jerked out of his skin when he gazed down into the face of the woman whom had captured his attention earlier, staring into the warm green eyes of a breathtakingly beautiful woman. Long hair cascaded around her pale shoulders in waves of emerald silk, the dress she wore hugging her figure and delicately flowing down to her ankles. It was simple in design, but seemed to enhance her beauty.

An impish smile curved her lips when she caught him staring. "I saw you when you came in with the Von Grantz family..."

"Yes..." Adalbert blinked once, blue eyes caught by those intense green ones that looked right up into his very soul, ensnaring him. Had anyone ever done that before? Looked him straight in the eye and not flinched away from what they saw there?

"We needed this celebration."

"What?" Adalbert gaze narrowed sharply, his expression softening however as he took in the fine features of the woman, not quite being able to place where he had seen her before, yet seeing the wealth of emotions that lived within this woman.

"The Great Demon Kingdom needed this celebration, the people needed to know that... they no longer needed to fear the darkness returning to take their families from them. They needed to be able to smile again... to see their King and hear his promise that there will never again be such a war in this Kingdom again." Gisela's eyes closed for a long moment, remembering the warm smile of their King when he had come down for his lessons in the healing arts, the cup of tea he would always bring her and the tiny bit of good news he would tell her about. That friendship had become precious to her as she grew to know the man who ruled their nation with a strong hand and a good heart.

"You think highly of him then?" For once he found himself listening intently to the woman beside him, feeling the burning ache of his shattered heart ease at the sound of her voice and the warm touch that lingered on his arm.

"Yes. I have been fortunate enough to get to know him personally. He truly does care about everyone in this world, including the humans. He has fears and flaws like any other man, yet he still moves forwards, still faces each challenge and is willing to listen to those around him." Her expression softened as she looked up at Adalbert, her heart beating wildly in her chest at the sight of a man she had fallen in love with long ago. Yuuri had promised he would do everything he could to bring Adalbert back to the Great Demon Kingdom and here he was, safe and whole and not in the castle dungeons.

"He is doing his _duty_ as King."

"He doesn't consider it a duty." Gisela responded with absolute certainty. "He honestly just wants to be able to make this world a place where everyone will one day understand each other... He wants the humans and Demon Tribe to be able to live together without fear or misunderstandings. I believe that his Highness will be able to do so and I want to see it... I want to see his dream become real."

"The Demon Tribe won't change..."

"It already has." Gisela's head tipped back to gaze into those blue eyes that held her so entranced. Her heart had always wondered what it would be like to know the fierce all consuming love this man could offer a woman. Emerald green eyes closed for a long moment as she sighed, feeling her heart clench to know that Adalbert might never see the love within her heart. "We have lost too many... but..." Her voice dropped to a soft whisper, something only Adalbert could hear. "We are still here, there is still hope for the future. I want to protect this peace. I want to do all I can to see it... to see the day when..."

Adalbert reached out with one large hand, his fingers hesitating as they hovered just over her cheek and for a moment he wondered if his rough calloused hand might injure that white skin. It had been like that with Julia. She had been like a flower, something so beautiful and could bring joy to the hearts of so many... yet... he had been the warrior, harsh and unyielding... and could almost trample that delicate beauty beneath his boots with his carelessness. How often had he seen the sadness in her beautiful expression when she observed him tending to his weapons?

He could feel the heat of her, the warmth and vibrancy. He almost jolted right out of his own skin when a gloved hand curled around the back of his own, drawing it against her cheek. Willingly, her head turned, pressing into his touch. Her soft lips parting in a whisper-soft sigh of delight at the contact. Long curling locks brushed against the back of his wrist and hand and Adalbert was shocked to realise he was smiling.

"Do I frighten you?" Adalbert questioned. "I am not like these other men, I am not a coward."

"Why should I be frightened of you?" Stepping closer, her free hand lifted to rest her palm over his heart, feeling the pounding beat of it. "Would you hurt me?"

"_Never_." He breathed, feeling as if someone had curled fingers around his heart at those words. All he had ever wanted to do was protect... protect what mattered most to him, to be the strength that someone needed. Julia hadn't turned to him for that, she had turned to Conrart for that, to everyone but him. "I would never hurt you."

"Dance with me." Gisela asked softly.

"I... I am not one for dancing."

"I highly doubt that." Her hand curled around Adalbert's, not afraid to tug him forwards, draw him along with her and into the whirling rush of colour. Grip shifting on his, her hand reached out to draw his arm around her as she stepped willingly into his arms, smiling up at him. "Dance with me, _Adalbert_."

The whisper of his name made him stare down into her beautiful face. He was caught up in her eyes, caught up in the warmth and affection he saw there, directed at him. The music vibrated through him, sparking something within him, while his grip slowly relaxed around her, drawing her slender frame against his own. She was barely up to his shoulder, yet, she had a fierceness to her... not afraid of challenging him.

"Please stay."

And all thoughts of everything else drifted away as he drew her protectively against his body and swept her into the sea of people, his fingers curling around her own, squeezing them softly. "Let me... protect you... just for a little while." He didn't know he had spoken those words as he gathered this woman to him, her head being tucked against his shoulder, just allowing her to sooth the raw broken shards of his soul.

Gisela couldn't help but relax into his grip, melting into him, eyes closing as he guided her effortlessly through the movements of the waltz. "Stay." She breathed. "Just stay with me..."

* * *

><p><strong>Town Square, The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Fingertips brushed. Bodies sliding past one another. Eyes locking.

Conrart's hand curled around Yuuri's which were stretched out towards him, their fingers lacing together as they moved slowly to the music of the waltz. The world around them seemed to fade away, drifting on a night breeze and leaving them alone with the music and laughter. Slowly they were moving closer with each sweeping whirl of the music, their hearts beating in time, unable to look away.

It was only then Yuuri heard the soft whisper, the low rich tenor and almost gasped in surprise. Obsidian eyes widened, his heart in his throat as Conrart offered him an adoring smile before his lips parted once more, his voice filling their world with joy. Each whispered word, every note of the melody rang within his soul. Conrart was singing. His eyes a molten silver, ringed by cinnamon, as if two bright stars had taken up residence there.

Conrart Weller didn't fear anything those around him would say, no worry clouded his handsome features as he continued to sing to the music, a song of love and sweet happiness. All the past had dropped away from them in those moments, their left hands clasped, the rings glinting in the warm glow of the thousand lanterns strung up in the square.

"I could fly right at this moment." Conrart whispered into Yuuri's ear, both hands catching his husband around the waist, lifting him with ease, whirling him around.

Yuuri's hands gripped Conrart's shoulders, his head thrown back as he laughed in delight, the worries that had plagued him washing away as his arms stretching out. Closing his eyes, he just lived for that moment, for this heartbeat of time. "You've already given me wings."

Slowly as Conrart allowed Yuuri's body to slide down against his own, he felt fingers brushing across his face. A mouth found his lips, warm and welcoming, their kiss was sweet and lingering. Their kiss was only broken when they heard voices off to their left, spotting Gwendal, Gunter and Anissina off to one side.

"But I'm pleading with you." Gunter's expression was serious, his lavender eyes pinning Gwendal in place.

"I'm sorry, but I flatly refuse. The answer is no." Gwendal was practically fuming, clearly unaware of the fact that Yuuri and Conrart could hear both of them quite clearly even though they were a dozen paces away.

"Do you know I heard from Doria that they tried several different inventions by Anissina to remove it... I actually saw Gwendal washing Gunter's hair earlier when I was going to talk to him about something." Yuuri remarked softly to Conrart, both of them intrigued by the drama unfolding before them.

"Now that the greatest magic power in the Great Demon Kingdom and every modern demonic device conceived of by my ultra superior brain has appallingly and shockingly failed. Only one viable option remains at our disposal."

Yuuri was actually forced to lift one hand and press his palm over Conrart's soft lips, covering them and muffling the sound of his beloved's laughter as they observed the entire thing without anyone noticing either of them.

"I told you, no way in hell!" Gwendal was livid, though there was a faint line of colour beginning to rise up along his throat. "Besides, why in the world my I be forced to kiss Gunter? Its sheer madness."

Conrart's cinnamon brown eyes widened slightly at the words and his body actually jerked with repressed laughter. The whole thing was ridiculous, but just so hilarious. Even Yuuri was forced to stifle his own laughter which was almost choking him at the rather loud words that had escaped Gwendal and the fact that the usually stoic man was blushing a fiery red.

"Not Gunter." Anissina corrected, waving a finger in the air just before Gwendal's nose. "You must kiss the band stuck to Gunter."

"_Karma_." Yuuri gasped out softly, a shimmer of tears coming to his eyes as he forced back the laughter that wanted to burst out of him. "Was never this funny."

"It's the same thing!"

"Gwendal." The whisper of the man's name was almost intimate as it escaped Gunter's lips.

"I've had enough of this!" Gwendal twisted around, his jaw clenched fiercely, hands curled into fists and looking quite ready to storm away.

"Wait! Gwendal!" The slightly shorter Gunter was following behind him, one hand reaching out towards him, managing to step in front of the retreating Lord Von Voltaire, he looked almost desperate. "Please. What must I do?"

"That's enough!"

"Enough!" Anissina huffed and planted one hand in between Gwendal's shoulderblades and shoved hard, sending Gwendal stumbling forwards towards Gunter.

Gwendal's arms wrapped around Gunter, desperate to keep his balance as his lips were suddenly pressed against the band of gold metal. It was quite obviously a kiss, a bright light flaring from the where lips met metal. The two men stared at each other, their gazes locking for one long moment. Before Gwendal's hand lifted to hook beneath the edge of the band and slipped it off the man's head.

"Curses of this calibre have always been undone by a kiss dating back all the way to the days of legend. It's always worth a try."

"This is..." Gwendal rasped. "This is so absurd!"

That was when all there turned to stare at the pair of men who had ended up dropping to their knees, both bent over with laughter, their shoulders resting against each other. Yuuri and Conrart had been practically brought to tears by the hilarity of the moment, both unable to stop for a very long time, even when Gwendal glared daggers at both.

None of them had been aware of the large blonde haired man who had been watching it all, the warmth of the evening sliding away sharply at the sight of Yuuri reaching out his hands to curl around Conrart's jaw and pull the man's head around to kiss him.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me." A man stood to one side of where Yuuri and Conrart were enjoying a couple of quiet moments away from the crowds, several guards standing watch, but not so obviously to draw attention to them. "I've been given a message for you, my Lord."<p>

Conrart turned slightly, surprised that the messenger was addressing him and not Yuuri. Accepting the slip of paper, he lifted it up to read over the message and stiffened sharply.

"Conrart?" Yuuri's head tipped to the side as he gazed up into his lover's expression, his lips parting just about to say something when he sighed. "Come here." He whispered softly, having a feeling he knew exactly what was on the message. His hand curled around the back of Conrart's head, fingers sliding through the long strands, their mouths meeting for a long heartbeat, sweet and tangible. "I won't interfere. I..." As much as he wished he could do something about it, he knew that it had been a long time coming. Conrart Weller needed to face off against Adalbert Von Grantz. "Promise me... promise me you'll remember my heart and my soul _belong_ to you."

"Thank you." There were not many that understood the need for a swordsman to speak with his blade. "Stay safe." His heart ached at the fact that he had to leave Yuuri even for a few minutes. "I'll be back in a few minutes. No matter what happens, I will always come back to you, my Love."

"I'll be right here, my Prince. My beloved Husband."

And Conrart felt his heart close around those words, holding the close to his heart as he turned away, the note crushed between his fingers.

* * *

><p>Adalbert reached around his neck and lifted off the blue pendant that had rested beneath his white shirt, his blue eyes meeting those of Conrart Weller. Holding it out, it dangled from between his fingers, his expression showing the heartache and anger that swirled around within him, having been trapped there for far too long. Most of it wasn't even directed towards Conrart anymore. "There is something I just can't understand. Something that's plagued me since Julia died. Why did she die without telling me anything? What was it that she entrusted to you?"<p>

Adalbert slowly settled the pendant down onto a nearby tree stump that stood in the middle of the small park area within the walls of the city, the trees blocking them from view. "I want to know the real truth!" His sword lifted as it slipped free from his scabbard, the blade however remained just that, a _blade_. Esoteric skills had no place here, no place in a duel between two men who had loved the same woman. They were Demon Tribe.

_He_ was still Demon Tribe.

Conrart's fingers curled around the hilt of the sword Yuuri had gifted to him, allowing the blade to slide free from the leather and gilt metal sheath. He thought he would feel anger, thought he would feel resentment towards a man who had put Yuuri in danger, had turned his back on the Great Demon Kingdom... but he couldn't. Yuuri believed there was still good inside of Adalbert and he could see it too.

"Listen to me, Adalbert." Conrart responded softly. "I see in you the pain of the deep love you held for Julia. With this sword I wield, I shall embrace it."

"You know nothing! Who are you to talk of my pain?" And Adalbert charged, his blade flashing through the air, the blade singing as it struck hard against Conrart's own as he met him half way.

"You were not the only one who cared for her, Adalbert." Conrart parried the next blow, both of them twisting around, though Adalbert was larger and had more brute strength, Conrart was quicker and lighter on his feet. "But I knew... she loved you. I accepted that, Adalbert. I knew... she did not love me as she did you."

"That man... you only see Julia when you look at him." He knew the story, knew of what Conrart had been gifted with, while he had been left alone, unable to say goodbye, unable to find peace in Julia's death. "He is not Julia. He might hold her soul, but he is not Julia!" Adalbert had watched Yuuri all evening, watched the King from a distance and thought he drew people around him like Julia had, there was something fundamentally different about him. Yuuri Shibuya was a _warrior_.

Adalbert was startled by his own admissions, his blue eyes widening as he struggled to grip his anger, struggled to hold it to him. Their blades met again and again, powerful blows that would have killed any other opponent. Julia... he had loved Julia... a precious flower... but... even he...

A roar of agony rang from his throat, Adalbert throwing himself into the duel, not stopping until both of them were panting hard, their clothes clinging to their bodies with sweat.

Conrart's next swing however knocked Adalbert's sword from his hands, sending it spinning backwards to bury itself deep into the rocky earth. One knee gave out under him, his body half crumpling, his face a mask of tortured anguish. He expected to feel the bite of that blade, yet nothing touch him, his head lifting slightly to gaze into Conrart's concerned face.

"The Great One and the Demon Tribe abandoned Julia to die without reason! My proof is that she died without telling me anything! She never hinted of the Great One's plan."

"Stop deceiving yourself." Conrart said sharply. " Julia loved you so much she didn't want you to know the end result. That she would be reincarnated as a different person with no memory of you. Perhaps she thought it was just too cruel a fate for the one she loved. She wanted you to think of the new Demon King as another person and didn't want you to get caught up in her promise to the Great One."

"How foolish you were, Julia." A single tear streaked down across his cheek, his shoulders shaking with the force of his own grief as he was finally allowed to face it, finally allowed to face the truth of what had truly been between them. "If it was what you had wanted, I would have accepted whatever fate was yours..." His blue eyes stared up at Conrart, realisation burning hotly through his chest. He had loved Julia... but what they had shared was not what he had glimpsed between Conrart and Yuuri. How could he ever accept such a fate for the one he loved? How could he...

"Conrart!"

Adalbert's head lifted sharply to glance towards the sound of that familiar voice, eyes widening at the sight of his mysterious beauty. His heart clenching in his chest when her eyes found him and concern was instantly filling her face.

"What is it, Gisela?"

Adalbert's jaw would have dropped open in shock as recognition struck him full force as the name went with the beautiful face. Gisela Von Christ...

"I can't find his highness anywhere! He was not feeling well... and sent Samuel to find him but when I came he was... he wasn't there and the guards were gone."

* * *

><p>Yuuri staggered slightly, a hand lifting to lightly touch his forehead as his entire body seemed to feel sluggish around him. He hadn't had anything alcoholic to drink, yet he felt as if he were drunk. He still remembered the slightly bitter taste of that last drink one of the guards had handed to him, suggesting he looked dehydrated. The man's face was a blur in his mind's eye. He had sent Samuel off to find Gisela minutes earlier, it was during that time that his stomach had decided to rebel. The King looking for the closest place to heave up everything inside of him.<p>

He didn't realise as he staggered forwards that step by step, his guards were being dragged away into the deep shadows of the alleyways that led off the street. His head was down, shoulders slumping, his hands were slowly beginning to go numb.

A hand suddenly rested at his elbow, a cup being pressed to his lips. "Drink, Sire. You will feel better for it."

"No..." He whispered, dizzily, his feet feeling as if they had been weighted down lead weights. Though his stomach still roiled, his body swayed to one side, a part of his brain screaming that something was wrong, that something was wrong with him and he needed to find Conrart.

"_Drink_."

The cup was forced towards him again, but one of his hands knocked away that wrist, sending the contents spilling across the cobblestones, the wooden vessel bouncing and rolling away.

"Con...rart..." He breathed his lover's name, his vision swirling with a thousand white stars, his limbs feeling so heavy... so heavy... A whisper of his lover's name escaped him one last time... His hand reached out towards the blurry outline of his husband, fingers touching only empty air. As darkness clouded his view, his body trembling once fiercely as the sedatives that had been placed in his drink were finally taking complete hold of him.

"YUURI!" The man appeared a few feet away, Adalbert actually only a step behind. Horror flared through Conrart Weller, the horror of knowing that his need to duel against Adalbert had drawn him away when Yuuri had need him most. A howl of his beloved's name escaped him as he broke into a dead run as the dark figure swept Yuuri up over one shoulder and turned to flee.

Adalbert stared at Conrart, seeing the terror in the man's eyes and knew that he had been mistaken about what lay between Yuuri and Conrart, there was a burning love between the two like he had never before seen. His heart sank, knowing that their King had been placed in danger because he had been selfish enough to draw away the one man who had been protecting the King. His horror was palpable and despite his exhaustion he was bolting down the street after Conrart.

Men sudden dropped from the roofs of surrounding buildings, black clad shadows that attempted to slow them down, their swords flashed quickly, cutting down any enemy that stood in their way.

Through twisting streets and alleyways, the two warriors were tracking the dark figure that carried the unconscious King across his shoulder. They didn't hesitate for a moment, both men working together, forgetting everything but the drive to rescue their King from the hands of those who had been sent on this day of all days to abduct their King.

Up a flight of stairs they both raced, finally trapping the cloaked figure on a rooftop. The man was near the far edge, Yuuri hanging limp and deathly pale over the man's shoulder, his long raven hair swaying slowly as his head bounced against the man's back. It was a four storey drop on the other side to the streets below, something that would certainly killed the man if he attempted to jump.

"Surrender the King at once." Adalbert snapped out, his blue eyes narrowing as he felt oddly protective of the dark haired man whom had somehow been the catalyst to getting him to return to the Great Demon Kingdom. "Surrender now and you won't _die_."

The figure turned his back to the dark drop beyond, staring at them and not speaking a word. Suddenly he stepped back over the edge, disappearing only for a few moments before there was a sudden flap of leathery wings.

A snarl escaped Conrart and he was charging forwards, unwilling to give up no matter what. He was going after the member of the Flybone tribe that carried the King, blade hissing through the air. The creature was however just out of reach as Conrart launched himself, unafraid of the dark drop, his hand stretched out towards his beloved, his fingers grazing against black fabric before he was caught hard across the jaw by the booted foot of the ninja and sent crashing backwards. His booted feet landed on the edge of the roof, his balance precarious. His hand stretching out again towards Yuuri.

It was only the fingers catching the back of his shirt jerking him backwards from a plunge down onto the unforgiving pavement below.

A howl of pure rage filled the night as he watched his beloved being carried away from him, unable to do anything in that moment but watch helplessly. "I swear you will suffer for this! DO YOU HEAR ME! I will hunt you down and cut out your heart, Stoffel! I WILL NOT REST UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD!"

* * *

><p><strong>CLIFFIEEEEEE LOOOOL <strong>


	11. Part 11: Promises

**Author's Note: WOWWWWWWW I actually did manage to finish this chapter tonight! LOOKIE! LOOOOOOOOOL I pinched a little inspiration from a few other episodes in places. See if you can spot them! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing!**

**Dedicated to... YOU! **

* * *

><p><strong>Spitzweg Castle, Spitzweg Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Consciousness was slow in returning to Yuuri, his eyes drifting half open, his vision still blurry, his mouth and throat feeling like he had swallowed a lump of cotton. Every part of his ached, his stomach rebelling openly against whatever had been given to him. His body jolted upright, his head twisting immediately to examine his surroundings, his brows drawing together as he didn't recognise anything. Food sat on a nearby table, a few covered dishes beside the fruit, however the mere sight of it had him almost wanting to gag.

Suddenly the door jerked open to one side of where he was stretched out on what appeared to be a couch. The figure in the doorway immediately making him frown sharply, the tall blonde man dressed in white and red was painfully familiar and definitely an unwelcome sight.

"Oh, your Majesty! You're awake." Stoffel Von Spitzweg stepped into the room, moving towards Yuuri. "I am happy to see that you are finally awake."

"_Stoffel_."

"Welcome and thank you for gracing my castle with your presence. Although admittedly it was an invitation you couldn't refuse."

"Kidnapping and poisoning." His face was pale, the drugs running through his body made reaching for his magic difficult, he couldn't focus enough to even make out Stoffel's face clearly, it was a white and gold blur. His words were barely above a whisper, Yuuri not quite having the strength to do anything any than keep himself sitting up and mostly steady.

"It was an unavoidable measure I took to protect, your Majesty."

"Protect me?" A bitter sound escaped Yuuri's throat, his fingers clenching and unclenching at his sides, knowing that even if he wanted to, trying to get to his feet would be next to impossible. "This is not protection." His head lifted, suddenly becoming aware of the second man in the room, of the pale blue eyes that gazed at him with worry and a growing concern at the sickness and weakness that clung to Yuuri.

"My deceitful nephews plotted to use your good name as a front for controlling the..."

A laugh escaped Yuuri, his head shaking slightly in disbelief. "Don't even try that line of thinking. We both know what you want and what you believe."

"Please rest your mind, your Majesty, I am not here to..."

"_Be quiet_." The command was level and hinted at the anger Yuuri was feeling at that very moment.

Stoffel jerked back, aware that the only thing that more than likely kept him safe from the anger of their King was the fact that he was drugged and weak. Yuuri _was_ dangerous. Anger and frustration appeared in Stoffel's features, his blue eyes turning almost grey with the fact that he was losing ground swiftly.

"My Lord, his Majesty seems quite tired, maybe you should allow him to rest."

Raven stepped in, knowing that Stoffel was close to snapping back at the younger man and maybe even lashing out in anger because nothing was going as he had wanted. Raven had gone along with the plan so far as long as no harm came to the King, he was loyal and never wanted to see anyone hurt... but the suffering etched on Yuuri's face was too much. It had gone too far. All of it. He was becoming aware that Stoffel was becoming more and more out of control, grasping at everything around him to claw out a little more power...

"If you will excuse me, your Majesty." Stoffel attempted to compose himself, before turning away and heading for the door.

Raven however stopped by the table, one hand reaching out to close around the handle of the jug resting there. His pale blue eyes turning back to meet those of his King, Yuuri's widening with understanding before Raven lifted the jug up off the table and carried it with him towards the door. "I will see to his Majesty's care, my Lord." Raven had removed the one item tainted with more of the sedatives and took it with him as he headed towards the door.

Stoffel moved down the corridor without waiting for Raven, allowing the dark haired man to turn back towards Yuuri and took a quick step towards him, guilt and regret lining each inch of his face. "Sire, I have but a moment. Please... forgive me. I never would have allowed any of this if I had known they would harm you like this. I would have never placed you in danger, Sire. I am... I thought..."

"Conrart is coming." Yuuri knew that down to his bones, Conrart would go through hell itself to get him back. "Help him..."

"Sire... I..." Raven remembered back to the promise he had made to Cecilie Von Spitzweg and begged in his heart she would understand he could no longer fulfil it. "I will see to it myself that he arrives safely. I swear to you, no harm will come to Lord Weller."

"You care about Stoffel, I can understand that." Yuuri breathed softly, body slumping back onto the couch, his chest heaving with the effort. "I will... trust in you... Raven, do not make me regret my decision." He knew that if he did manage to ignite his powers in the state he was in, he was liable to bring down half the castle with him... He had to trust in this man's change of heart. "Tell Conrart... my Prince... fairytale..."

"You will never regret your choice." Raven felt relief flood his heart. "Please... do not end his life for this."

"I will see... he does not die..." And Yuuri slipped back into that endless darkness as Raven moved away and carefully shut the door.

* * *

><p>Stoffel sat behind his desk, expression showing his frustration. One finger tapped against the wood surface, his blue eyes staring at Raven as if Yuuri's 'stubbornness' was his fault. "The King is just a foolish child. He understands nothing."<p>

"Please do not worry. He is after all within our power. We shall give him proper instruction at our leisure." Raven kept his tone neutral, but inside he was almost vibrating with worry. He realised that Stoffel needed to stay away from their King.

Suddenly there was a whoosh of displaced air as one of the black clad warriors came down from overhead, quickly approaching Raven as he turned to face him.

"What is it, soldier?"

The soldier leaned up and whispered something into his air, news that both startled and relieved Raven. "What?"

Stoffel was immediately on his feet, his gaze flickering with worry. "What is it, Raven?"

"Interesting... it's come to that."

* * *

><p><strong>Spitzweg Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Conrart urged his horse faster, uncaring of anything but getting to Yuuri. His heart was a dead weight within his chest, his body trembling with both a mixture of fear and cold burning rage. He had seen Yuuri's beautiful dark eyes dazed and gazing at him in confusion, watched as he crumpled like a lifeless doll.

Adalbert didn't demand he slow or join up with Gwendal's forces that were marching on Spitzweg. The powerful warrior was riding with Conrart, just as determined to see the King back to Covenant Castle as Conrart. Though they might never be friends, in that moment on the roof when Adalbert had yanked Conrart back from the edge, the half-breed knew that the private war between them had been settled.

Both would bring down an entire army between them if that was what stood in their way to Yuuri.

* * *

><p><strong>Spitzweg Castle, Spitzweg Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

A heavy knock sounded against the wood of the doors, before they swung open and framed a tall figure in the doorway dressed in a maid's outfit. "I've come to clean your chambers!" Yozak's vibrant blue eyes scanned the space, surprised to see no sign of movement, stepping into the space he shut the door quickly behind him, certain that this was the rooms that contained their King.

It was then that the softest of moans escaped dry lips, making Yozak's head snap around, the bucket slipped from his fingers as he stared at the deathly pale form of Yuuri Shibuya sprawled limply on the couch. "Sire!" He didn't even notice that when the bucket had clattered to the floor a maid's uniform had spilled out of it, frilly white and pink.

Dropping to his knees beside the couch, one hand reached out to carefully curl around one wrist, lifting it enough to press his fingertips in against the cold skin, feeling the rapid but thankfully strong heartbeat beneath his touch. It had shocked him to see a man so usually lively and full of fire reduced to a pale, limp body which looked so frail in that one moment. "Sire...?" He questioned softly, knowing that the escape plan had just changed, it was clear Yuuri wouldn't be going anywhere under his own power.

Dark, slightly glazed eyes drifted open at the sound, a faint smile coming to his lips at the sight of Yozak kneeling beside him in a maid's outfit. "Butch... maid..." A glimmer of amusement danced in those eyes before they drifted half closed again, the powerful drugs attempting to suck him back under. "...Yo...zak..."

"You could tell it was me, already?" Yozak attempted to tease, for once feeling his jealousy of this man beginning to slide away. He could not fault his King for his choices and he was slowly starting to understand what others saw in this man. "My lipstick must be too pale."

"Look... lovely."

"I'm here on Lord Gwendal's orders. I infiltrated in order to spy on Stoffel's nefarious moves."

Yuuri forced himself awake, despite the painful drag on his body and mind, he was attempting to force himself back to full consciousness. "Raven."

"Pardon?"

"He... our side." Chest rising rapidly, he found himself frustrated by the fact that he could barely get out even three words without feeling like he had just run a marathon. "Don't... let him... be harmed..."

"Are you certain, Sire?" It surprised Yozak to hear such a thing, Raven was known to be extremely loyal and dedicated to Stoffel, yet the look on Yuuri's face made him certain that somehow Raven had turned to the right side. It was clear whatever Yuuri had been given was not fading from his systems but instead making the King weaker. Under his very fingers, that pulse was starting to weaken slowly, what colour had remained in the King's features had drained away, he needed to be brought to Gisela.

Yuuri didn't protest when Yozak carefully slipped both arms beneath the man's body, lifting him upwards and attempting to shift him enough that he would still be able to reach his sword. The King's head dropped limply against his shoulder, Yuuri no longer able to keep himself conscious as he was being carried from the room and out into the hallway.

They were moving through the hallways swiftly, Yozak doing what he could to avoid the soldiers, knowing that he was quickly running out of time when it came to his Majesty's health.

Suddenly they were being stopped. The hallway filling with guards with their spears drawn and lowered.

"PROTECT THE KING!" One of them shouted, charging forwards just as Yozak reached for his sword hidden in his broom.

* * *

><p><strong>Spitzweg Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Conrart's horse bucked sharply, his head lifting as the gold and blue towers of Spitzweg Castle appeared over the tops of the thick tress. His hands grasped the reins, his heart screaming for him to hurry. His eyes however dropped down to the man who stood waiting for Adalbert and Conrart, his jaw gritted in rage as he stared at a man he had once respected.

He was suddenly launching himself from the saddle of his horse, his blade singing as it slipped free from its sheath at his side, a roar of rage all that could escape him. Here was someone responsible for taking away his beloved, for daring to harm that which was his. Raven was forced to take a step back, any words that he would have offered to explain that he was actually there to help Conrart infiltrate the castle died when he was forced to draw his own sword or end up killed at the end of the man's blade.

In that moment, Raven gained a new appreciation for the man known as the Lion of Lutenberg, he was a lion, cinnamon eyes blazing that inhuman silver, lips parted in a snarl. He was a predator, one that had been deprived of its mate and clearly was not about to let anything stand between himself and what he loved.

Adalbert was already going after the guards, aiming to disarm rather than kill. Forcing them back and away from the two men who were locked in battle. The guards were also attempting to remain back, only attempting to defend themselves and Lord Raven, clearly with no intention of harming either warrior.

"Wait!" Raven kept retreating, remaining on the defensive, feeling his arms and shoulders practically scream with the power behind each and every blow of that sword. "I..."

"No _excuses_." Conrart snarled, going again for Raven, rage burning white hot inside of him, not about to stop until the path to Yuuri was once again clear. "Traitor."

"Lord Weller... wait! His... Majesty!" Raven was stumbling backwards, feeling his blade practically vibrate with the strength of the next blow. His wrist suddenly gave, the blade spinning away from his hands, burying itself deeply into the wood of one of the trees. His legs gave out beneath him, sending him to the ground with the deadly razor edge of that blade pressed just beneath his jaw.

"Give me one good reason, why I should spare you?"

"I came to bring you to his Highness. He is..."

"Do not lie to me."

"I'm not." The dark haired Tribesman was desperately trying to think of some way to prove what he said was true, his mind racing wildly. "He said you are his Prince." He remembered the softly spoken words, trying to recall them exactly, knowing that those private details might just be enough to prevent him and his men from ending up dead.

"What did you say?" Conrart snarled, the flat of his sword turning Raven's head upwards so that their eyes could meet for one long moment.

"He said you were his fairytale Prince."

The half-breed staggered backwards at those words, his heart desperately clinging to them, momentarily reassured that Yuuri was still alive if Raven knew something so intimate about the two of them. Only Yuuri said such a thing to Conrart, whispered that he was like those knights of Earth legend, a Prince fierce and protective. "..._Yuuri_..."

"He needs your help, I came to escort you back to the Castle. Please... forgive me, your Excellency."Raven's head bowed in respect to the man who would soon become Prince of the Great Demon Kingdom, the consort to the King. "Allow me to do this, Sire."

"Take me to him, Raven."

Raven looked up into those silvery brown eyes, startled by the vulnerability in those words, hearing the boy Conrart had once been within them. His heart clenched at that, remembering the child Conrart had been and his deep fondness for him. The death of the King would kill Conrart Weller as surely as a sword blade to the heart.

"I can't lose him. I can't... lose Yuuri... I love him..."

"This way, Sire." Raven was rapidly getting back to his feet, not bothering to retrieve his sword as he was hurrying back towards his horse, knowing that time was definitely against them in this if they were to rescue the King and prevent a war.

* * *

><p><strong>Spitzweg Castle, Spitzweg Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Yozak's back struck the wall, his blue eyes widening slightly as more soldiers spilled out and into the hall, his hand closing around the hidden sword and shifted the King slowly down beside him on the cold tiles. Yuuri's head lolled to one side, but thankfully remained upright, limp and almost appearing lifeless in that moment. He shifted in front of his King, drawing the blade out and looking almost comical like that still dressed in the lavender and white maid's outfit.

He blocked several blows, his blade slashing through the long wood shaft of the spears, the metal heads clinking against the tiled floor. Though he had a feeling that this time he had really gotten in over his head with this...

Suddenly there was the sound of boots along the corridor, a challenging roar let out and several of the guards shattered like frightened sheep, two figures basically ploughing through their number as if they were nothing more than a nuisance. The bodies of the guards thumped hard against the walls and floor, groaning as they slipped into unconsciousness.

For a moment the glint of gold from beside Conrart made him think that it was Wolfram who had accompanied their future Prince, instead his eyes widened in shock to see Adalbert Von Grantz fighting shoulder to shoulder beside Conrart, both of them working as a team to take down the enemy. It was nothing compared to the abilities of Conrart and their King when they fought as a pair, but it was still something impressive to see, two men fiercely determined to reach Yuuri.

The second there was an opening, Conrart launched himself through, his blade sliding back into his sheath and trusted in Yozak and Adalbert to protect him as he reached out both arms to scoop Yuuri up into his arms.

Roused by the familiar touch, Yuuri's head lifted just a touch, seeing the terrified eyes gazing down at him and relaxed. "Con...rart." He breathed out.

"I'm here." He whispered, shifting Yuuri upwards, the King's limbs winding around his body as he slipped an arm beneath his lover's thighs, supporting him as Yuuri's face pressed against his neck. It allowed him to reach for his sword, his cheek lightly touching against the silky mass of his hair. "I'm here, my Love." Nothing in Conrart's opinion mattered more than getting Yuuri to Gisela, the weakness in his husband's body was a shock to him, frightening him to his core. Revenge and his own anger could wait, everything could wait.

"How's the King?" Adalbert asked as he knocked out the last of the guards, snorting in disgust at just how easily they had gone down once he had started on them.

"Weak." Conrart said softly, already beginning to head back the way they had come, Raven had already headed towards the battlefield hoping to prevent war from breaking out between the two different sides of this conflict.

"He's a pretty strong kid." Adalbert conceded. "To bring down a lion."

"What the hell is he doing here, Captain?" Yozak asked as he joined them.

"What the hell are you doing in that dress, Spy?" Adalbert retorted with a smirk, though his blue eyes still showed his concern over the health of their King.

"Hey, I look good in this!"

"_Right_."

* * *

><p><strong>Spitzweg Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

A wide dry stream bed sat between the two opposing forces, those that rode under the banner of Spitzweg and those that moved under the flag of the King. Warm sunshine spilled down across the untouched earth. Tension filled the air, hot and heavy, leaving every man on a razor's edge of emotion and knowledge that if blood was drawn this day, it would more than likely spark a civil war.

"Stoffel! I would like to avert a senseless war if it is at all possible!" Gwendal's voice carried through the silent space between the two forces. "All you must do is return to us what was taken!"

"What are you talking about?" Stoffel responded, but knew very well exactly what he had done and what he had done to do it.

"You know what he's talking about! The abduction of the King from his own engagement ball and the fact that you _poisoned_ him." Gunter's fingers clenched around the reins of his horse, the leather creaking in protest. Fury burned hotly inside of Gunter at the fact that Stoffel had gone so far as to sanction such a thing against their King.

"Blaming the innocent for such a crime against the King!" Stoffel lifted his chin, stubborn and unwilling to admit to the fact that the accusation was true. However, it had been necessary considering the fact that their King was not a weak boy, but a man with both considerable magic ability and swordsmanship. "Then attempting to hush me up in the name of justice! Is that your way of doing business?"

"So you insist you know nothing about these crimes, is that right?"

"His Highness came to my castle of his own accord!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"I am not going to allow you to have your way with his Majesty any longer!"

Several men were already rushing forwards, their horses sprinting down the steep sides of the riverbed. Gwendal charged them, his blade clearing its sheath and lashed out at the riders, aiming only to dismount them rather than kill, knowing that the moment blood truly was drawn there would be no going back from this. As he passed them, he reined in his horse, drawing his mount to a quick stop as the other horses slowed and their riders suddenly slipped from their backs onto the hard sandy soil.

Stoffel was shocked at just how quickly Gwendal had defeated his men. "No!"

"Is this your answer, Stoffel? _War_?" Gwendal didn't want that to happen, the fact was, he didn't want any blood to be spilled this day, however Stoffel had gone too far.

"Foolish boy, have you forgotten I have his Majesty in my custody?" It was the one fact that kept Stoffel confident, as long as he held that one game piece he would still be able to control this situation.

"GISELA!" Conrart's shout silenced everyone as his dun coloured horse streaking forwards along the riverbed, followed closely by both Adalbert and a dress wearing Yozak which would have been hilarious in any other situation. Before him on the horse, Yuuri was barely moving, his dark eyes barely being able to open as he fought hard against the heavy weight that seemed to rest within his limbs and even his eyelids.

A white mare broke through the ranks of soldiers, sending them scattering as the woman answered the frantic calls of her name, not caring that she was going into a warzone, only aware that their King was dangerously ill.

At the same time from the direction of the Castle, five horsemen were moving swiftly towards where Stoffel's army stood atop the embankment.

"Raven!" Stoffel's voice reflected his anger, his blue eyes narrowing on his long time servant.

"Sir, I beg you! Stop this here!" Raven was wheeling his horse around, his ice blue eyes shimmering with emotion and desperation knowing that given time. "There is still time!"

Awareness filled Stoffel's expression as he gazed at Raven. "You betrayed me."

"You betrayed yourself, Sir, I said this had gone too far. This plan... but you insisted. Our loyalty is to the King, my Lord, to allow him to suffer this way."

Yuuri was carefully stretched out over the soft earth, his dark eyes staring into the vast blue sky, barely aware of the fact that Conrart was sitting by his head, which rested in his lap, fingers stroking delicately through his hair. Or Gisela kneeling over him, a hand resting lightly over his chest, her expression showing her fear over the terrible condition the man was in. Adalbert stood behind her, his massive body protective as he stood guard, reading to strike down any enemy that would consider approaching them.

"Love..." Conrart's voice was soft, fingertips caressing one cheek, afraid that if he wasn't careful Yuuri would shatter into a thousand pieces. Even at the worst moments when his magic was drained, Yuuri was not like _this_. "My Beloved." The words were choked, but a tear managed to escape his control, slowly sliding down his cheek to drip onto Yuuri's face. "I'm right here." His free hand curled around one of Yuuri's, allowing those fingertips to press against his pulse, remembering the many times before Yuuri had done so. He still didn't quite understand it, but he hoped now it would be enough to do something... anything to draw Yuuri back from that nothingness he was flouting in.

"His magic..." Gisela whispered, confusion in her voice. "Its..." Shaking her head slightly, she was lifting her palm above his chest, a tiny bubble of brilliant green light flaring beneath her fingers, the magic uncoiling from within her and attempting to correct the damage that had been done to the King's body.

"You betrayed me, Raven."

"Men, retreat! Return to the castle." Raven's voice filled the space, and he saw faces turn towards where he had reached Stoffel. "Sire, this has to stop right now. I beg you, do not do this." He had never even suggested confronting Gwendal, Gunter and Wolfram so openly like that, he knew well that their forces would be overwhelmed the moment other members of the army arrived from the Capital to join this advance party. Blood would be spilled needlessly. "Return to the Castle!"

More than half of the men actually did move back, glancing around and clearly realising exactly what was going on and the fact that the King who had been at the castle was now shown to have been poisoned just like Lord Von Christ had accused.

"Hold your ground! Arrest Raven and go! Go retrieve the King from the hands of the enemy!" Stoffel's words rang loudly.

Several of those most loyal to Stoffel did break ranks and were charging towards Raven, suddenly dismounting the man and knocking him to the ground as they swarmed over him like ants on prey. Raven let out a muffled cry as he was driven forcefully to his knees before Stoffel's horse a spear wedged between his shoulder blades just hovering over where his heart rested.

"I serve the King!" Raven's cry was one that shattered half a lifetime's service to the man before him, seeing the power hungry coward within Stoffel clearly for the first time as the reality of this situation became clear. The King could have been _killed_ by Stoffel's orders. "My loyalty is to you, Sir! I willingly give my life if that is what is required."

Yuuri felt as if he was drifted... floating in a void of nothingness until he sensed that steady familiar pulse between his fingertips. He blinked slowly, chest rising as he inhaled sharply awareness flowing back into him like a river spilling over the top of a dam. It was only then that he was aware of the tingling shimmer of magic not his own rippling into him, the healing warmth spreading outwards through his veins and cells.

"Con...?" Every muscle in his body ached fiercely, his mouth and throat feeling like he had been eating sand. Eyes blinking slowly, he tightened his grip as he came back to himself, though weak, he was aware he was no longer on that uncomfortable couch.

"I'm here." Conrart whispered, his face appearing over Yuuri's, his smile gentle and worried. "I'm here, Yuuri." Slowly, strong arms slipped around his body, helping him to sit upwards as he attempted to get up himself, hearing so many voices echoing all over the place. Those warm arms coiled around him tightly, cradling him back against a solid chest, his magic fluttering around him wildly, making him aware that something was going on.

"Now men, rescue his Highness! Attack!" Only half of the soldiers broke rank, rushing forwards and plunging forwards down the hill, intent on returning the King to Stoffel's 'protection'.

There was only one thing those loyal to the King could do but rush to meet the attack, going to the defence of their Lord with no regret in their hearts. The ground shuddered under so many feet, vibrating as battle cries were given, challenges made in that heartbeat of time.

Raven could feel the cold press of a second blade against his neck, the whisper of metal sliding backwards and into striking position just behind him.

One soldier leaned in to whisper in his ear. "No one betrays our Lord and lives."

In that moment he knew, he was just about to die. His only regret was that he could not have seen Cecilie one last time and admitted to the beautiful woman exactly what was in his heart. Head bowed, he knew at least that his efforts had not been in vain in the end.

"_**STOP IT!**_" Yuuri's voice shattered the sounds of approaching war, his body supported by Conrart's arms as they stood in the middle of what was about to become a battlefield. Though his flesh was weak, his magic wasn't, throbbing through him with each beat of his heart as his eyes darkened, in one blink his pupils shifted, gazing at the world through the form of the Demon King.

Adalbert shielded Gisela's body, his arms curling around her waist and drawing her backwards away from the danger that presented itself. He had not seen this up close and it was an awesome sight.

The wind picked up, whirling out and around them for a moment, blowing away dust and debris, stunning every person with the force of the rippling shockwave. Only Conrart was safe, Yuuri's magic weaving itself around the man curled in close against his body, shielding him from all harm and a hand lightly touched against Conrart's fingers that rested over his heart.

The old riverbed suddenly bubbled with tiny springs of water pooling up out of the soil, the tiny pools twisting up into the bodies of water serpents that hissed angrily at the Spitzweg soldiers that had dared to attack. They launched themselves at the men, impervious to the sweeping blades that attempted to shatter the fluid coils. Each man was brought down with a new skill that Yuuri had been practicing with Ulrike, his magic drawing strength from Conrart's presence as well.

The wind howled out its anger as a massive serpent wrapped itself around the body of the man behind Raven, dropping him to the ground, the spear shattered between enormous jaws, splitters of wood raining over the earth.

"My men!" Stoffel shouted, unaware of the fact that the half of his men who had answered Raven's words to some degree remained unharmed and untouched.

A hand reached out towards Stoffel and the man was abruptly captured in the gaping maw of a second massive water dragon that practically dragged the man from his mount and dropped him at the feet of Yuuri Shibuya and Conrart Weller. Its body immobilised the man, keeping him still and showing him no mercy no matter how much he struggled against the coiled weight.

"_I should show you no mercy._" The Demon King growled low in his throat, dark eyes blazing as blue magic pulsed from his very skin, his body stepping away from the support of his husband's arms. His jaw clenched slightly, keeping his feet. "_As you have shown to one whom had pleaded with me to spare your life. You will not die by my hand, Stoffel Von Spitzweg, but you will answer for your crimes and understand that your impudence will not be tolerated any longer."_

"Sire..."

_"Hold your tongue!"_ The King was in no mood for Stoffel's cheek. _"You are hereby stripped of your title until you can prove you treat this land and these people with the respect they deserve. You will turn yourself over for judgement by your peers and they will decide what punishment you deserve for your previous transgressions against this Kingdom and its people in starting the war against the human nations. In your place, Raven will act as caretaker for your lands until such times you are reinstated or another suitable candidate is found to replace you." _

And with that Yuuri swayed, falling back into Conrart's arms as his power dissipated quickly... leaving a lot of very startled people in its wake.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Conrart Weller woke with a sharp intake of breath, his entire body jerking and stiffening, his eyes snapped open and he stared up at the ceiling his mind racing wildly. A shudder rippled through his limbs and up his spine, his hand immediately slipping out across the sheets beside him, and the moment he felt the coolness of them against his palm, he jerked upright. His eyes widening in terror as he found the other side of the bed empty and cold, the blankets smoothed down where Yuuri normal slept.

Panic filled him, the deep fear of the nightmare settling into his bones as he was scrambling to free himself from the tangle of sheets that wrapped around his body. "Yuuri?" His voice filled the darkness, his bare feet finding the stone floor, the chill of it running up along his spine and freezing his heart right in his chest.

"Yuuri!" His panic was turning into something far worse while his eyes flickered around the darkness of their bedroom, every part of him practically trembling. A cold sweat clung to his skin, the slow tremor becoming actually shivers when they snaked around inside of him, his knees almost buckling as he clung to the memories of Yuuri returning safely to Covenant Castle with him. "Lo...ve?" His voice broke, the sound choked from his throat.

A soft glow suddenly filled the room as a candle was lit near the doorway, spilling its soft illumination into the dark shadows of the room. It almost seemed too bright to Conrart's eyes, blinding him for a moment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Yuuri stood in the doorway, holding up a tray of steaming teapot of herbal tea with two cups sitting beside it. "You seemed restless and I thought this might help..." Obsidian eyes widened and he was hurriedly setting the tray down onto the table beside the candle, his slippered feet a soft rasp against the stone as he was approaching Conrart. "You're... Conrart, you're shaking."

"I woke up..." Conrart rasped, one trembling hand reaching out to lightly touch Yuuri's cheek the moment he was close enough. "...And you were gone..."

"Come here." Yuuri was immediately opening his arms to Conrart, his expression filled with love and concern.

Immediately the man stepped forwards, his body trembling so badly that it actually sent him to his knees, his arms wrapping tightly around Yuuri's waist, his face buried against the softness of one of his own shirts that hung long over Yuuri's chest. His cheek pressed against the warmth, his trembling turning from fear to deep body wracking sobs. Fingers fisted into the fabric at the small of his lover's back, drawing him closer as his entire frame shook with the force of the great sobs that practically tore him apart from the inside out. A lifetime worth of loneliness spilled out of him and the terror that had seized his very heart at the thought of being alone again.

The King's arms curled around the back of Conrart's shoulders gently, one hand resting against the back of his head, tucking it in close to his chest, rocking him slowly as he did so. He didn't make a sound of protest as his shirt became damp with tears, his skin hot and a touch sticky. His only reaction was to pull the man even more tightly to him protectively. "My Prince, my beloved Prince..." He whispered, smoothing down the sleep musted locks, just holding Conrart close to his body.

They stayed like that for what seemed like a lifetime and only when the sobs began to slow, the sound quieting did Yuuri urge the man to his feet and to the edge of the bed. Returning to pick up the still warm tea, he came back with a cup and carefully curled Conrart's hands around its warmth, his own covering his urging him to drink it.

Using the dry edge of his shirt to lightly brush at the tear trails that still ran across Conrart's cheeks, he gazed into the unfocused cinnamon eyes. One palm slipped beneath the man's chin and tipped his head up so that he was looking down into that handsome face from where he stood between Conrart's knees. Dipping his head down, he pressed soft kisses against that mouth, tasting the slight saltiness clinging to them, licking it away.

"Yuuri..." Conrart was slow to return to himself, his cinnamon eyes beginning to focus on his face, the man's chest heaving slightly with one deep breath, embarrassment colouring his cheeks for a few long moments. "I..."

"Never be afraid of showing me how you feel." Their foreheads touched lightly, Yuuri hugging Conrart's shoulders, fingertips stroking back and forth through the shorter strands at Conrart's nape. "Your nightmares were bad tonight." He whispered softly, lightly brushing his lips against his lover's jaw and up to his temple. "They aren't usually this bad."

"I..." Conrart shifted closer to Yuuri, one arm slowly wrapping around the man's slender waist and pulling him in closer, desperate to hold him and warm his chilled soul. "Just... seeing you... being taken from me... Seeing you... so still..."

"It's okay." The King reassured his lover. "I'm actually glad this happened."

"Wh...at?" Cinnamon eyes blinked up at Yuuri, lips parted adorably in surprise.

"You always bottle up everything, something you stopped in me. Always keeping all your pain trapped inside you and it needed a way out." Tipping his head slightly, his tongue brushed lightly over that little scar that ran across one eyebrow, tracing it for a moment before giving Conrart a tight hug. "My beautiful, beloved Prince."

"I love it when you... call me that." Conrart admitted softly, carefully sliding his hands up from where they had been resting at his lover's waist, drawing the shirt along with them. The damp fabric was tossed aside, the sleeping pants soon following as Yuuri was drawn to him, their bare skin touching. The warm herbal tea had settled itself in his belly, warming him from the inside out, Yuuri's slow touches easing the last of the tiny tremors that rocked him.

"Do you feel better?"

A slight nod.

The man was unable to resist the lure of the beautiful man before him. His arms tightened around the warmth of that body, embracing him fully, lips touching against that throat. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"You loved me, Husband."

* * *

><p>Yuuri awakened slowly, the warm sunlight spilling in across the stone floor of his chambers, his entire body relaxing as he felt the soft flutter of heated air brush across the nape of his neck, his lips turning upwards into a smile. Conrart was still sound asleep behind him, the man curled up against his back, spooned right against him, both long arms tucked around Yuuri's waist, practically preventing him from even considering getting up.<p>

He loved mornings like this where there was no rush to get up, no pressing matters to attend to until later.

Obsidian eyes watched as tiny dust motes fluttered and spun through the rays of golden sunshine to settle on the stone floor, his world seeming right one more. The slow shift of Conrart's body against his back alerted him to the fact that Conrart was slowly drifting upwards from the depths of sleep as well.

A tender kiss was dropped against the back of Yuuri's neck, lips lingering there for long moments as Conrart let out a contented little sound that echoed Yuuri's own. "Good morning, Love." Conrart's voice was husky from sleep, almost like melted chocolate... Long limbs stretched slowly, body arching against the dark haired man's, before lazily settling them about Yuuri again, just as reluctant to get up. "How are you feeling?" One hand dropped down to lightly press against the King's stomach, stroking in a soothing circle.

"Better than I have in a while." His body no longer felt like it belonged to an invalid, the night before was the first time he had felt confident enough to talk around on his own for the first time in days. It had taken time and effort for his body to flush out the poison that had been stubborn and resistant. "I've been considering something..."

"Mmmh?" Conrart nuzzled his face against the side of Yuuri's throat, just leaning in a little closer and letting out a contented sigh as he spooned up against him just a little more.

"I was thinking of asking Adalbert to become Captain of the Guard."

Now that got a rather surprised sound out of Conrart, his head lifted and he leaned against his elbow as Yuuri rolled over to face him. "Yuuri... I do not think..." As much as he admitted he admired a little of the dedication Adalbert had shown, actually remaining behind with Gwendal to seeing to Spitzweg's security and also to other more important matters that were better sorted by Yuuri's advisors. The man didn't seem like the type to accept such a position after twenty years...

"Hear me out on this." Lips pressing together, he considered everything that had happened in the last few days and what impact it would have on those in Covenant Castle. "I've considered other choices for your replacement... but none suit it better than Adalbert. He's knowledge about human matters far more than we are outside of our borders and we need that right now... we need someone who's not afraid of telling us we're being complete asses over something. Gwendal and Gunter are still suspicious... what's the saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? You get the idea. The sooner they see he's changed the better. And then there is Gisela..."

"You're good at that." Conrart couldn't help but smile, hands stroking up and down along the planes of his husband's back beneath the blankets, before his palms settled against slender hips and pulled them forwards.

"At what?" Yuuri's eyebrows lifted upwards in question.

"Reasoning out everything like that and... changing everyone you touch for the better. Raven...Gwendal, Wolfram ... Adalbert... Me... I never thought I would see the day... but..."

"I haven't truthfully done anything..."

"You have." Conrart insisted, drawing Yuuri into his arms and holding him close, face buried against the wealth of dark hair that tickled across his chest and skin. "You have given this Kingdom hope when we were without. You see the good in everyone around you and bring it out in those you touch. You are peace... and happiness."

The King's face suddenly turned bright red at the praise, his obsidian eyes wide as they gazed up at Conrart. "You're exaggerating."

"No, I'm not." Fingertips dancing down Yuuri's sides, he smiled, feeling his heart lighten at the sight of Yuuri's own smile. "You are the joy and light that lives within my heart." Tickling Yuuri, he pinned the smaller man beneath him as he squirmed and arched beneath Conrart's touch attempting to escape his fingers, but was soon laughing, his head thrown back, eyes bright as he wiggled amongst the sheets. "My angel who holds me in the night... when even I cannot fight the demons anymore..."

* * *

><p><strong>So ends the 'Stoffel' Arc or at least this particular part of that plot. LOOOL he will appear later and we will see the outcome of what happened between Yuuri, Raven, Conrart and Stoffel in part... O.o 17 I think? <strong>

**The next few chapters will be about the 'Svelera' Arc, Yuuri did mention his worries about Svelera at the end of Part 9. The plot will be a bit different in places in that next story arc, such as the reasons why Yuuri goes there and what knowledge he already has about the place. It will also give us a chance to see Yuuri and Gwendal interact in places, which is quite good. I wonder if Gwendal just might find out... LOL I won't spoil my plot idea! Hope you like this late bit that gives Yuuri and Conrart some together time! I felt they deserved it. **

**My plan is to write this story up until Episode 25 or 26. I won't be covering the Conrart betrayal arc because it wouldn't work at all with this particular twist on their relationship. So that means we get to see the Bearbees, Dragons, Alford, Greta, Nicola and Hube! LOOOOL sound good? **


	12. Part 12: Shifting Sands

**Author's Note: And so begins the Svelera arc! LOOL ^_^ and a whole bunch of fun it will be! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing... SIGH!**

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Adalbert felt like an _idiot_.

His fingers clenched around the stems of the flowers in his hand and he forced himself to relax, not wanting to accidentally crush the stems of the wild flowers he had managed to gather. Glancing down at his other hand at the cup of hot rather fragrant tea, he desperately hoped that either one of the offerings would prevent him from ending up thrown out of the infirmary. He recalled her speaking about the King bringing her tea and hoped that the same would make her willing to talk to him again.

Stepping through the threshold of the familiar infirmary, his gaze drifted around the beds that lined the space, extremely grateful that there was no one present by the slender white clad woman who was working on the bench with her back to him. Quietly approaching, he carefully set the teacup and saucer down onto the desktop, the soft clink of porcelain against ceramic making Gisela start suddenly and turn around her eyes going wide.

"I hope I am not intruding." His voice was soft this time, swallowing around the lump that was wedging itself in the back of his throat. It had been decades since he last attempted to please a woman and here he was standing there with a bunch of not so happy wildflowers and nervous disposition. Adalbert was never a nervous person, but right at that moment he felt every one of the years that had separated them.

"Adalbert." Gisela breathed, her eyes widening at the flowers that were thrust towards her, the pretty green and blue flowers spilling over the tops of his calloused thumb and palm. "Oh..."

"These are for you." The words were rough, his jaw clenching slightly and his vivid blue eyes glanced away, knowing that the flowers were quite... _pathetic_ as he was right at that moment. "So is the tea."

"You... remembered." The healer was startled by the gift, and carefully lifted the blooms from between Adalbert's fingers and lifted them to her nose, inhaling the faint fragrance that clung to them. "These are lovely." They were quite unlike the professional arrangements that were displayed throughout the castle, it was clear that Adalbert himself had picked these blooms just for her.

"I thought..."

"You are always welcome here, Adalbert." Her heart was practically humming in her chest, gazing down at the flowers in her hand she quickly turned towards the sink and used an empty bottle as a vase, before setting it by the window so the light played across the pretty blooms. "Can you stay?"

"I have finished my rounds. I have time." And he settled himself down into the empty chair across the desk from her, gazing down at the uniform he wore, his fingers lightly touching against the fine wool and cotton. It felt odd, remembering the words of the King, the offer that had been made to him. Captain of the Guard, it was a privilege and a position of respect, one that had to be constantly earned and upheld. He was responsible for the safety of those in the castle and in the town within the capital's walls. There was no time for grudges or vendettas. "It's quiet without the King ," Without the man who had somehow tugged him back onto this path, who cared enough to reach him the only way he could.

"Isn't it?" Gisela offered Adalbert a warm smile. "It seems as if all the life leaves the castle when he's not here. I think there is not one person in this castle that he doesn't know personally and by name."

"Honestly?" Adalbert's brows lifted in surprise at that.

"I've often seen him greet people by name, though the moment he spots Lord Weller the rest of the world ceases to exist." Amusement coloured her tone, but it was followed by an indulgent curve of her lips as she settled herself into the chair she had brought around before Adalbert. "I have never seen a greater love than what they share. There is nothing either wouldn't do for the other." Gisela's eyes however flickered back to Adalbert's face, seeing the thousand emotions that danced through the man's cobalt blue eyes. "I wonder what it's like to have that..."

"I thought I had that with Julia."

Gisela jolted, startled by the fact that Adalbert was actually willing to talk to her so openly about a subject which would have usually sent the man into a rage no more than a few weeks before. "You..."

"I realised... I was always reaching for something, reaching out for her... and knowing that she was beyond my grasp." Adalbert's eyes closed, his head bowed slightly as he leaned forwards, his hands resting in his lap and he swallowed around the lump that formed in his throat. "We tried... but I could see it in her face when I look back into my memories of being with her. Her disappointment... her unhappiness over the fact that I was a warrior. She could not understand the need I had..."

"The need to fight to protect what was important to you."

"Yes." Adalbert's tone was soft, relief filling his expression as he gazed into emerald green eyes. "I did love her. I loved Julia so much that it almost shattered me inside... but that pain... that _pain_ was hurting everyone around me. I didn't see the anguish everyone else felt over her death. I couldn't look beyond myself." How many years had he lost with his father? How many years had he lost with those he cared about? And for _what_? He had become a monster that had prowled the borders of the Great Demon Kingdom and pitted human against human... "I will have to live with what I've done and find a way to repay the debt. You helped me see, Gisela."

A faint flush actually ran across her cheeks at that.

"It wasn't Julia who was blind, it was _me_." However, he had felt in her touch something that he hadn't with Julia, a spark of something... a feeling that he couldn't quite describe.

"I care about you." Gisela admitted, her hand reaching out and catching one of his much larger ones, fingers curling around it and feeling his own cover hers holding it close. "I have Adalbert for a very... very long time. I..."

"I want to be the kind of man you could... love, Gisela." He wanted the happiness that her smile promised him, the warmth that reached his soul with every touch of her fingers.

Leaning forwards, she stood, a hand lightly resting on his thigh as she shifted in close, their noses touching. "You already are, Adalbert Von Grantz." And her head tipped when one large palm cradled her cheek and jaw, thumb stroking across her chin before their lips met for the first time and it was a revelation. "Just never leave me again."

"I promise, I will stay, just... let me protect you, Gisela." His cobalt eyes pleading with her as he brushed back a stray wisp of hair from her cheek, slipping it behind one of her ears. "Please... let me be the strength you lean on."

Her answer was another heart stopping kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>Valivore Castle, Karbelnikoff Lands Near The Border, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The roar of the ocean filled his ears as he leaned against the railing, his eyes closed when a salt laden breeze caressed his face. A smile tugged at his lips when he felt his husband's arms slide around his waist, a chin resting against his shoulder as Conrart leaned in closer against him, warming his back. "Do you like it here?"

"Yes, it's lovely." A contented sound slipped from his throat, one hand dropping to lightly brush against the sleeve of Conrart's jacket where it curled around his chest. "It's been a while since I've been to the seaside," Besides the time he spent in Vandavia, though if he was honest he didn't count that. The water called to him, its magic tingling through his body and leaving him feeling strangely contented.

It had been a long time since he had dared to strip off his shirt for a swim in front of others, his scars had made him extremely self-conscious, but now it no longer bothered him. The scars were a part of him, they would fade in time, oddly enough but he had never considered the fact that Conrart bore scars as well. His free hand lifted to lightly caress across the scar that split one brow, a silly little smile coming to his lips at the thought that they were a matching set.

"I hope I like the cause of that smile." Conrart teased softly, nuzzling Yuuri's neck and dropping a kiss behind one ear.

"Yes." He responded, his thoughts wandering towards the idea of licking each one of Conrart's scars.

It was only the clearing of a throat behind them that disturbed their shared moment. Gunter stood by the doorway, waiting several moments before daring to enter the room with Wolfram just on his heels. "I brought the documents that you requested, Sire." Gunter lifted several documents upwards , before carefully setting them down on the large table that was already filled with maps and other materials that Yuuri had been looking over earlier.

"Thank you." Moving to sit and examine the new information that Gunter had brought to him, Conrart stood by the back of his chair, reading over Yuuri's shoulder as the King still took a longer time to read the texts as he was still struggling a little with the grasp of the written language even though he had been in the Great Demon Kingdom several months.

"Here." A fingertip lightly tapped at several areas on the map of Conansia Svelera, "They are the most likely areas where the women are being held from the information in the reports." Yuuri released a breath, his jaw gritting for just a moment, considering every part of the plan he had worked out, hoping that it would be enough to ensure the safety of those prisoners. "What do you think Gunter?"

"Sire... this entire matter..."

"Gunter, your thoughts, please." Yuuri needed honesty, this situation was something he had not dealt with before and so the opinions of those around him were extremely important.

"It could work." Gunter admitted softly, looking over the list Yuuri had made earlier, nodding in silent agreement. "However..."

"You feel that it is a waste of resources?"

"The quantities that you are suggesting are..."

"Have you ever heard the term 'foreign aid'? That is what this is, though its only reasonable that we ask for such a concession in return. Our people are treated unfairly as are those who would dare to care for them. I'm not turning my back on something like that, nor on the suffering of their people." The border raids by human villagers on their own towns along that particular border had convinced him that he didn't have time to spare debating this issue with everyone who had objections to the Great Demon Kingdom getting involved in human matters. "I am quite willing to answer to any noble of the Demon Tribe on this matter, I'm willing to take blame for any problems that might erupt from this."

Gunter's lavender eyes softened at the determination of their King and sighed softly. "Is it necessary for you to go in person, Sire?"

"I feel that in this matter it is required. I trust both you or Gunter could easily handle such a sensitive negotiation... I..." His fingertips lightly tapped against the tabletop, his head turned towards the sea and the magic that thrummed through it and into him. "Maybe I can help with the drought? I am a water user after all." And his magic functioned perfectly well in human territories. "I need to see this done."

"Sire... there is another matter that I have been asked to mention to you."

Nodding once, he set down the map he had been examining to give Gunter his full attention.

"There have been rumours, Sire, about a man claiming to be the Demon King imprisoned in Svelera for skipping out on his restaurant bill."

Yuuri blinked once, "Running out on his bill?" Now that was not what he was expecting.

"We have not intervened as of yet... However the imposter is apparently in possession of a great treasure of the Demon Kingdom, the Demon Flute which only you can play."

Wolfram stepped up close to the other side of the table. "According to what my father told me, the flute produces the most incredible music anyone has ever heard."

"The flute was taken from the Great Demon Kingdom over two hundred years ago and hasn't been seen since. However, since you successfully located Morgif, perhaps..."

"I will keep that in mind, Gunter." Yuuri rested his hands lightly against the tabletop, giving his aide a reassuring smile. "We'll retrieve the Demon Flute, however, the main issue is the safety of those women and men."

A knock sounded at the door, Samuel standing there, his grey eyes flickering over the people present before resting on the King's face, bowing his head once in respect. "A message has come from Lord Von Voltaire, Sire, he is waiting for your arrival at the border outpost."

"Thank you, Samuel, have our horses prepared." His eyes flickered between Conrart and Wolfram, both men nodding slightly in agreement. "For myself, Lord Weller and Lord Von Bielefeld."

"At once, Sire."

* * *

><p><strong>Conansia Svelera-The Great Demon Kingdom Border<strong>

Yuuri's hand lifting to carefully draw the hood of the long desert cloak up over his head, easing the slight discomfort that had already started to affect him as his senses started tingling from the lack of water he could sense. It was an odd sensation, one he had never experienced before to such a degree. It was like a part of him was slowly being pried away, leaving a void within his very soul. Though he could still call on the other elements, their presence shimmering around him constantly as he became more aware through exposure and training... he still... naturally reached for that which came to him quickly and with ease.

"Love?" Conrart asked softly, his hand lightly touching Yuuri's, lingering there for a moment, his cinnamon eyes troubled by Yuuri's distraction.

"It's nothing." He shook his head slightly, attempting to clear the sensation but not quite succeeding.

"Something is bothering you."

"The lack of water." Yuuri admitted with a shrug. "I guess... I just never felt it to such an extreme before."

A curious glimmer flickered through Conrart's expression, before it was forced back. It was almost as if the half-breed wanted to ask more about it, but refrained from doing so. Conrart's head turned away, focusing on the sweeping swath of desert that stretched out before them.

"It's kind of like... losing part of the use of one of your senses." Lips pursing together, he considered his explanation before continuing. "There is always water around in the Great Demon Kingdom, be it in the river or a lake, or below ground in the water table. It's always there, a warmth that I can feel and against my skin and inside of me. I only truly became aware of it when I came to the Great Demon Kingdom, I mean it was always there before, but not like this... this intensity."

Conrart offered Yuuri a heart-felt smile, urging his dun mount just that little bit closer to Yuuri's, one large hand ever so softly brushing against Yuuri's cheek this time in silent thanks. It was rare any magic wielder openly talked about such things with a half-breed either because of pity for their inability to use such things or sheer arrogance.

"You know, I was surprised by the fact Gwendal so readily agreed to accompany us on his journey." His head tipped to the side slightly as the long border wall rose up from the sands and dark volcanic stone on one side of them, the border outpost coming into view.

"He sent out a search party for the Demon Flute twenty years ago. The news we received about its location drew him to accept your request for his assistance in this matter. Gwendal's family were amongst the search party's number."

"Geigen Huber." Yuuri's brows drew together, attempting to work out if his assumption was correct from what he had been told.

"Yes, Huber is Gwendal's cousin, through his father's sister. He went missing sometime during the search."

"It was a banishment, wasn't it?" His voice was soft, his eyes closing when he understood that it had been the one way of them being able to punish the man for a crime that had led to his own existence. "Under the pretence of searching for the Flute, a way of getting him out of the country quickly and not leaving a mark on the man's family name for it..." His fingers curled a little more around the reins of his horse, squeezing them lightly and not knowing whether to feel anger or... something else for his actions. "You never expected him to find it... and Gwendal thinks it might be Geigen Huber that's imprisoned?"

"Yes."

"I see." Yuuri nodded slightly, eyes closing for a long moment as he blew out a soft breath. "He still cares, after all that."

"I think so."

* * *

><p>"Here." Conrart sat at the edge of the well, offering up a water skin to Yuuri, a smile on his lips.<p>

Their knees touched when Yuuri leaned forwards to lift the offered skin to his lips, allowing it to run slowly down into his mouth and throat, not wanting to end up making himself ill. Several droplets of water escaped from between his lips and ran down the length of his jaw and onto his throat.

Conrart leaned forwards, unable to help himself as both arms curled around Yuuri, drawing him in between his knees and licking up each spilled drop. His mouth stroked against the soft skin of the King's neck, feeling the wild pulse fluttering beneath his touch. It was a playful little thing, both growing more comfortable with public displays of affection with each passing day. Yuuri's lips turned upwards at the corners as he continued, allowing more to spill then necessary, practically purring when that mouth continued to brush his skin.

"Waste not..." The half-breed chuckled softly, licking his lips when he shifted back, gazing into Yuuri's hungry obsidian eyes.

"Thirsty?" Yuuri questioned with raised brows, a smile on his own mouth.

"Yes."

And instead of being given the water skin, Yuuri held it to his lips, coaxing Conrart to drink, watching the play of muscles working in the man's throat as he swallowed. Just before the man finished, he withdrew the wood lip and dipped his head, mouth capturing Conrart's and almost groaning as those lips parted and he could taste the water's sweetness and his lover intoxicating flavour. It was a while before their lips parted, Yuuri licking up stray droplets around those silky soft lips.

"Enough, you two." Came a rather gruff grumble from behind Yuuri, Gwendal standing in the shade of one of the large desert trees, his navy blue eyes warm though despite the words. "We don't need the two of you giving anyone ideas."

"Ideas?" A bright laugh escaped the King, leaning into the warm embrace that tucked him closer to Conrart for just a moment, before he was released. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Love-sick fools." Gwendal huffed.

Conrart couldn't help his own impish grin at his brother's obvious discomfort at having caught them in a quite intimate moment. "Just wait, Big Brother, you'll find someone..."

"I would not ever act so inappropriately in _public_."

"You'll change your mind on that one, Gwendal." Yuuri chuckled softly at the slight flush that ran across the older man's features at such words. "You and Gunter looked quite... _intimate_ at the town celebrations."

"That was not..." Gwendal practically growled at them as the pair were already heading back towards the horses, hands entwined and sharing the same wide grins at Gwendal's expense.

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Conrart!"

And the only answer Gwendal got was another burst of amused laughter.

* * *

><p><strong>Open Desert, Conansia Svelera<strong>

Yuuri rubbed lightly at his brow, brushing away beads of sweat that clung there, his lips pressing together before he forced himself to relax. He was the one who had said he would accompany them, any complaints about the heat were pointless, nothing would change the fact that they were in the middle of a desert. His eyes were already stinging from the contacts that he wore, however some things truly were necessary for such a trip if they were to remain inconspicuous.

His gaze swept the horizon, both brows suddenly lifting in surprise at the sight of something he had definitely not expected to see in the middle of a place like this. Dismissing it for several moments as being nothing more than his overheated mind deciding to give up on the rest of him, he couldn't help but stare at the fact the creature was waving its arms rather amusingly as if attempting to draw attention to itself.

"I don't quite get it... but something rather cute is going 'yay' in the middle of the desert." Amusement laced his tone, his lips quirking as he gave Conrart a loving look. "I think my mind has decided to play tricks on me."

"I don't see anything cute." Wolfram grumbled from where he rode on the other side of Yuuri, a scowl finding its way to his face.

"It looks rather like a panda." The absurdity of it made Yuuri definitely question his mind.

"A panda?" Conrart stiffened on the back of his dun mount, worry immediately filling his expression. "Love, are you certain?"

Suddenly the two riders at the lead of their party suddenly disappeared only a few metres from them, their voices being swallowed up as abruptly as they had. Their horses vanishing along with them, with the softest hiss of sliding sand.

Before they had any warning, both Wolfram and Yuuri's mounts were sliding downwards as well, the animals panicking a little as their hooves sank into the cascades of moving sand that funnelled downwards towards the massive creature that sat in the centre of it. It was almost like a black hole sucking everything into its open hungry maw. Yuuri's horse actually bucked, throwing him onto the sand as its legs folded under it, the massive creature going out from under him. Wolfram's too fell, the younger man sliding towards the creature a few feet in front of Yuuri.

"Wolfram!" Yuuri reached out for the younger man, but he was past his reach, his body continuing to slide downwards, his boots vanishing into the rush of grit and sand. His lungs and throat burned from the fine particles that sprang up into his face and suddenly his body jerked to stop as an arm wrapped around his body.

Conrart was resting against him, one arm coiled around with a length of robe that Gwendal held onto tightly. Yuuri immediately stretched out for it, his fingers curving around the coarseness of it, easing his weight off of Conrart's wrist and arm. However, Yuuri's eyes were on the spot where Wolfram had been moments before, the younger man now vanished beneath the constantly shifting layers of sand.

"Wolfram." He breathed, fear flickering brightly within him as he gazed down at the wide open maw of the beast, its jaws lined with razor sharp fangs, its massive arms tipped with wickedly sharp claws. "I can't see him!" Abruptly the bear vanished from view, burrowing itself down into the earth once more.

"He'll be alright if he manages to hold his breath until he finds one a byway out of there." Conrart reassured Yuuri, though his own brown eyes were deeply troubled as both pairs of eyes gazed at the spot where he had vanished. "He'll be... alright..."

"Go." Yuuri answered him, tightening his grip around the rope and beginning to pull himself upwards, knowing he could do nothing if he attempted to assist, knowing Gwendal's strength would not be able to hold both of them for long. "Go to Wolfram." His hand caressed Conrart's cheek lovingly, he trusted in Conrart's abilities knowing that his husband was more than capable of protecting the younger full blood.

"Yuuri..." He breathed, torn between staying with and protecting Yuuri and making sure his little brother was safe.

"_Go_." He responded firmly, his free hand reaching up and feeling Gwendal's large one close around his wrist, tugging him upwards to safety. "And bring Wolfram safely back to us. I'll be waiting for you at Kviria."

"Gwendal, protect him!" Conrart shouted up at his brother, placing his faith in his brother's ability to guard the King, before allowing his arm to slide free from the rope, their eyes locking as he slowly vanished beneath the sand. "I love you."

"Stay safe." And he was hauled up those last few inches and to safety, before his heart echoed his lover's words back to him silently.

* * *

><p>A thousand stars littered the sky overhead, standing out brightly against the endless blanket of navy blue. It actually amused Yuuri to think that the sky actually reminded him of the colour of Gwendal's eyes when he was angry about something. Even in the Great Demon Kingdom at Covenant Castle, they didn't see this many stars, the lights of the town affecting the view.<p>

"You forget just how many there are." Yuuri whispered softly while his head rested against the cool stone behind him. His fingers tugging the blanket a little more tightly around himself.

"What?"

"The stars. In the other world, you could barely even see a dozen in the night sky when you were outside, the lights were so bright..." The King actually startled himself with those words, his lips parting slightly in surprise before drawing his legs up a little more against his body. The cold of the night was seeping into his bones, it was so strange considering the day had been scorching hot, that now he found himself cold. "I don't even think of it as being home anymore." He didn't quite know when that had happened, when he had stopped thinking of his house in Japan as being 'home' and started thinking that Covenant Castle was home instead. "I don't feel any desire to go back there. I miss my family at times... but... I feel like that life... is a world away..."

Obsidian eyes drifting closed, he drew the cloak a little more tightly around his body, not once protesting the cold, knowing that somewhere out there Conrart would be feeling the same chill that had slipped into his heart. Neither of them liked being parted during sleep, it was always the one time they were together, when nightmares would be chased away by the comfort of another's arms and soft loving words whispered against an ear. "Do you think they all escaped unharmed?" He knew Conrart was alright, he knew he was safe wherever he was, but he wanted to hear someone else say the words.

"Yes. I am certain Conrart would have retrieved Wolfram by now."

"Why was I the only one to notice that animal?" His brows drew together, letting out a soft sound as he clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from actually chattering despite the fire burning brightly before him.

"It's quite possibly because you are apparently immune to some of the esoteric powers inherent in that sand bear trap." It seemed to support what both Yozak, Wolfram and Conrart had said about Yuuri's abilities to control vast amounts of water while in human territory on the trip to procure the Demon Sword, Morgif. "It was more than likely set to prevent travellers from approaching an esoteric stone mine or to prevent the stones being exported."

"I'm glad you're here, Gwendal." And he meant every word, he was extremely fond of the man and found himself slowly starting to confide his ideas in him. He wanted Gwendal's approval, the man was already family, already his brother by marriage not that Gwendal knew that and Yuuri would protect this man with his own life if it was ever called for.

"Not many would say that." The deep rumble startled the King, Gwendal's dark blue eyes opening to regard the man beside him, catching the slight shiver that ran through Yuuri's limbs, admiring the fact the man hadn't complained once during the journey, nor now when he was clearly cold.

"Well I do. You're family and I would do anything to protect my family, you... Wolfram, Conrart and Cecilie." His mouth turned upwards into a soft smile, letting out a thoughtful sound. "Wolfram calls me, Brother, when it's just us. We might argue at times... but I treasure every moment, because I know he would be there if I ever needed him."

Gwendal felt his heart soften at that, unable to help his own genuine affection towards this man who had put back together the pieces of not only his family but also of their Kingdom. "Come closer to keep warm." One large arm wrapped around Yuuri's shoulders, tugging him sideways and against Gwendal's side. "You'll feel better."

Yuuri sat there for a moment before shuffling a little, leaning his weight against Gwendal's side, his eyes slowly closing as he remembered the first time he had done that with Conrart. "That... is warm." He whispered softly, relaxing slowly as Gwendal's heat soaked through his cloak and into his body, soothing the shivers that had wracked him and easing the biting ache in his heart just a little as his soul longed to be with Conrart once more. "He's alright... isn't he, Brother?"

"If a warrior of his great prowess was to fall to a mere sand bear they would talk about it until the end of time."

"My beloved Prince." Yuuri whispered. His thumb rubbed softly against the underside of his pledge ring, curling against Gwendal's side and trusting in the man to guard them. He was exhausted. "Wake me for second watch." He managed to get the words out, shifting around so that he could reach the sword that rested just by his shoulder beneath the edge of his cloak. "If..."

"Rest. I will wake you." The charcoal haired Demon promised.

* * *

><p><strong>Elhara, Desert Town, Conansia Svelera<strong>

Yuuri sat behind Gwendal on the horse, his own having been lost to the sand bear's trap along with those of the soldiers and others who had accompanied them. Brown eyes blinked slowly, contacts feeling gritty as he roused himself from sleep, his face lifting from where it had been pressed against Gwendal's back. One arm still remained wrapped around Gwendal's waist to keep his balance, but he lightly touched the hilt of his sword with his other hand to reassure himself that it was there.

The King was surprised to see a town sitting between the two massive mountains of black basalt that rose out of the desert sands on either side of them. The greenery that sprang up from between the houses promised that there was a supply of fresh water in the town near the surface.

"Was I asleep long?" Brushing a hand across his face, he rubbed away sand that had clung to his lashes and cheeks, shifting away from Gwendal.

"Not long." Gwendal responded.

Yuuri had taken half the night's watch to make sure no one and nothing came upon them and so had attempted to rest enough while they were travelling to be awaken and prepared when they arrived at a town.

The horse soon came to the gate and they were greeted by a man who had the oddest haircut that Yuuri had ever seen, half his hair was shaved and the other half at the top of his head stuck straight up and was the colour of carrot juice. He looked like a half shaved skunk with a bad dye job. A long spear rested in one hand and barred their entry.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"Good afternoon to you, Sir." Yuuri greeted, straightening on the saddle behind Gwendal, but shifting his cloak to conceal the sword that rested at his belt.

Half a dozen other soldiers with the same demented haircut were soon crowding in behind the first, their lips turning up into smirks as they studied Gwendal and Yuuri, though their hair colour varied from carrot juice to dried wheat, it all looked rather hilarious.

"No horses allowed here." The leader of the uniformed pose snapped, beady eyes studying them with interest.

Gwendal slipped down from the back of the horse, his hands reaching out to help Yuuri down from the back of the saddle, making it seem like Yuuri was not a competent rider. "Keep your head covered." He murmured low for only the King to hear, before stepping back and away from them, Yuuri drawing his cloak a little more firmly around his body. The Demon Tribesman turned towards the humans, his face as expressionless as ever and his voice just as bland. "We would like to purchase provisions. Are there any lodgings?"

"That depends entirely on the colour of your money." The man seemed to snicker, clearly thinking that they could get quite a bit out of both of the travellers.

"Come." Gwendal said confidently to Yuuri, leading the way into the town, his bulk blocking the view of the thinner, shorter King whom practically shadowed him as they moved through the empty dusty streets.

Yuuri's gaze drifted to the number of posters that covered every available piece of wall space along the roads and between doorways and windows. Both eyebrows lifted as he reached out to snag one carefully while no one was looking and examine it up close. The picture on it was extremely badly drawn, something that a child would have done. His fingertips traced the human words, but unfortunately his ability to read them was extremely limited, and none of the characters were familiar to him.

Folding the poster, he tucked it into the pocket of his jacket, holding his tongue and not asking Gwendal questions about it until they were well on their way away from this place. It was like a ghost town, there seemed to be little to no life beyond the guards that he had already seen.

Finally the guard came to a stop beside a door, Gwendal and Yuuri standing to one side of him. "Over here." The man rasped, pointing at the door and gesturing for Gwendal to follow him.

"Wait here a moment." Gwendal's hand however lightly touched Yuuri's arm, their eyes locking as he leaned in. "At the slightest sign of trouble, take the horse and get out of here. The town where we are meeting the others is south of here."

"Alright." He agreed reluctantly, but trusted in Gwendal's ability to handle himself even though Yuuri was quite capable as well of protecting them.

Gwendal moved away and stepped through the small wooden door, the guard moving behind him, leaving Yuuri alone out on the street.

Pausing for a long moment, he glanced around before retreating back several steps as he spotted several pairs of eyes watching him from the deep shadows of several buildings. Backing up into the small alcove between the building Gwendal had entered and the next one, he slipped into the space, his back pressing against one wall.

Abruptly it gave way behind him, flinging him backwards and across the dark room, his back thumping hard against the wall and he dropped to the ground, winded by the sudden motion. His eyes immediately lifting to find two soldiers hovering over him.

"Just stay down, Shrimp and we won't kill you."

Yuuri was slowly shifting into a crouch, his hand curling around the hilt of his sword as he looked over the two before him, judging that he could take them down before they caught him. The moment he was about to launch himself a pair of arms suddenly bear- hugged him from behind wrapping around his body like a vice and wrapping his arms at his sides. Immediately he was hissing like a trapped feline, bucking hard and lashing backwards with his booted heels into the man's knee caps, sending him thumping against the wall with a groan of pain. Yet, the man refused to let him go. Much to their surprise to took all three to subdue him, his struggles still almost knocking them away as his feet made solid contact several times.

Suddenly the door swung open and light poured into the dark space, Gwendal standing in the doorway, anger scorching across his features at the sight of his King being handled like that. Though he was impressed by the fact the two holding Yuuri's arms sported dark bruises already on their faces, they would more than likely have lost their lives if they hadn't pinned his arms and prevented him getting to the sword still resting at his belt.

"Gwendal!"

They were extremely lucky humans.

"I thought so." The man behind Yuuri said.

"This is you, well isn't it?" The man suddenly lifted the rather badly drawn poster that Yuuri had been looking at earlier. "It has to be."

"It isn't."

"Don't play dumb, you both look just like them."

"_What_?" Now that really was beyond Yuuri right then, wondering how these idiots could even think they looked anything like the squiggles on that page.

"How so?" Gwendal's voice was a rough growl, his expression darkening by the moment.

"Wanted, a tall man of the Demon Tribe with grey hair and a pretty young girl." The man was reading it off the poster, clearly impressed by his own genius deductions of the fact that they were the pair on the posters. "The girl is badly disguised as a human boy."

Yuuri wanted to laugh at that. He was definitely _not_ a woman. "Trust me, I'm not a woman."

"A large reward is offered to anyone who catches the elopers."

"_Eloper_?" Now that did it, Yuuri's expression turned immediately dark at the suggestion he would 'elope' with anyone. "I'm ALREADY MARRIED!" Yuuri lashed out hard, his heel connecting sharply with the man's already bruised knee and gained a howl of pain from him for the insult.

Gwendal jerked to a stop at the words, his eyes widening as he stared at Yuuri Shibuya in shock, his mind spinning out of control for one long moment.

"I was _married_ at the Fire Festival on Vandavia Island through a formal pledge. I _have_ a license." His hand lifted slightly, the gold and silver ring around the ring finger of his left hand becoming more visible. "And I am certain not a woman." He hissed, quite ready to bite the offending hands near his face.

"You married him. We can still get a bounty from turning you both in marriage or not." The man jerked his head towards Gwendal who was still standing there, eyes wide with the large bubble of shock that was working its way through him at the news that Yuuri and Conrart had already married and had done so several months before without telling anyone. "Now unless you want her head bashed in, you'll put these on your arms." A set of manacles were dropped at Gwendal's feet, clattering as they rolled slightly. "Well?"

Gwendal jerked himself back to reality, before he was reaching down to pick up the manacles before striding forwards towards Yuuri. His fingers curling around the slender wrist and jerking it way from the hold of one of the men. Snapping the cuff around Yuuri's left arm, knowing from watching the King spar against his brother that he was predominantly right handed and Gwendal was quite capable of using his left to fight in combat. It clicked and locked closed with a snick.

The Tribesman soon closed the metal around his right wrist, scowling down at it and knowing that he would probably never live this particular incident down for a long time.

Yuuri's fist suddenly connected with one of the men's faces, bone cracking under the force of the blow as Yuuri demonstrated just how pissed off he actually was. His boot slammed one last time into the man's knee, hearing the kneecap practically pop out of place and the man dropped Yuuri, reaching to clutch at his knee as he dropped and Yuuri's knee met his chin solidly. Gwendal took out the last one with a powerful blow to the man's stomach .

"You _married_ him?" Gwendal rasped.

"Running now, questions later." And the Demon King was going for the door, half dragging Gwendal behind him before the man found his stride. Both of them were heading straight of the horse, Yuuri's sword was soon clearing its sheath and he spun for a moment, allowing the chain to whip him around as his blade connected with several spears, sending them clattering to the side before being forced to run again as Gwendal's long legs carried them forwards.

Gwendal leapt up onto the horse, Yuuri soon up behind him, his arm lifting over the Demon's head and allowed the chain to come down in front and around Gwendal's waist, allowing the man to grip the reins firmly while Yuuri's sword deflected several more projectiles.

Soon the horse was galloping across the desert sands, heading south and moving as quickly away from those guards as possible, knowing that none of them would take their defeat lightly. Yuuri only hoped however that they weren't aware of where they were heading and that Conrart and Wolfram would be waiting for them when they reached the city.

Sometimes... their luck really sucked.

* * *

><p><strong>LOOOL! Gwendal just found out that Yuuri and Conrart married about six chapters ago! HEHE... though next chapter is going to be damned fun. Considering Nicola is going to be in it! <strong>


	13. Part 13: The Bride And The King

**Author's Note: I stuck close to the events in this episode because they worked well for me. I really hope you like it! I can't believe how popular this is becoming! So many reviews! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing... But Gwendal's sense of humour. LOL**

**Dedicated to all you lovely LOVELY people who review each chapter and encourage me to continue to write this very interesting story. **

* * *

><p><strong>Outside Kviria, Capital City, Conansia Svelera<strong>

"Married?"

"Yes."

"To Conrart?"

"Yes."

"On Vandavia?"

"Yes." Yuuri was almost amused by the litany of questions that were being directed at him by the man riding before him.

"You have been legally married for _months_." Gwendal's jaw clenched slightly, wishing he knew exactly what to say in regards to all this. "And you did not think it was necessary to inform us of this particular development?"

"Well... we did it in a pledge ceremony... and it was something between Conrart and myself. I have all the documents back at Covenant Castle in a lock box." Sighing, Yuuri almost wanted to stare at Gwendal's back, but instead turned his attention to the desert that seemed to stretch out around them in all directions. "Gwendal, that ceremony was... was evidence of our decision to marry not because of the _slap_, but because we honestly loved each other and it was what we both wanted."

"Could have still informed us."

"Maybe we should talk about this when we aren't shackled together." His eyes darted down to the length that stretched out from his wrist and around Gwendal's body to the man's own. "How exactly are we going to remove these chains?"

"They were forged with an esoteric stone, it will take a priest in Kviria with esoteric skills to remove it."

"Oh." Though Yuuri allowed his head to bow slightly, eyes closing as he let out a slow breath. He was tired, the heat was definitely taking its toll on both of them considering they hadn't been able to get any water at that outpost before they had almost been taken prisoner as 'escaped elopers'.

"Kviria." Gwendal's chin jerked towards the shimmering walled city that sat before them, like a mirage hovering above the sea of shifting sands. Its massive azure domed palace seemed to reach all the way up to the sky. It was beautiful from a distance, with no hint of having been affected by the drought that had turned Conansia Svelera into a virtual desert.

"Looks like our luck just might change after all."

* * *

><p><strong>Kviria, Capital City, Conansia Svelera<strong>

Yuuri wanted to almost laugh at the ridiculousness of their own situation, his eyes glancing down towards the chains that linked them together. The rather large rattle and clank of them drawing the attention of those around them, though the manacles were covered by a length of fabric, it was obvious that they were currently shackled together. "This will be a story to tell..." He mused, though his expression sobered almost instantly knowing that they needed to find a priest willing to free both of them.

His head twisted slightly, eyes locking on a nearby well, his jaw clenching as he immediately sensed the fact that water no longer ran anywhere near it. His fingers curled and his head bowed, his thirst something that left him even more out of touch with his water magic.

"Here." Gwendal said surprisingly softly, his free hand holding out his water skin to Yuuri, intense blue eyes softening with concern.

"I..." His own hand curled around the neck of it, feeling the tiny tingles of magic slide over his skin just from the water within the leather bladder. Eyes closed as he inhaled sharply with the odd tingling pleasure that it brought to his entire body just being near even a little water. "Are you certain?"

"Drink." The man insisted, "I'm fine, you are not."

Carefully pulling out the stopper, he lifted to his lips and downed a few mouthfuls, feeling the water slide down his parched throat and down into his stomach. His entire body sagged ever so slightly in relief, actually leaning against Gwendal's side as he felt the ache in his body begin to ease.

Gwendal let out a grunt of exasperation about 'water users', which made Yuuri smile despite himself.

Downing only enough to ease some of his thirst, he corked it once more, offering it back to the other man, before straightening and finding his feet again. "I appreciate that."

"You should have told me you were that thirsty."

"I..." Yuuri flushed slightly, glancing away and to the ground. "I know that it will be some time before we are able to refill the water skins. I just did not wish to... trouble you."

"You are stubborn." Gwendal huffed, but lifted his hand to squeeze Yuuri's shoulder, gazing down at the younger man with something like affection. "Conrart placed you in my care."

"Thank you, Brother." The King grinned before studying the streets around them, his gaze sliding over the different styles of building and definitely had to admit he had no idea what he was looking for when it came to a church.

* * *

><p>The pink stone building rose above them, looking oddly Arabian in its design, flanked by a squat domed structure on either side. The sound of bells filled the morning air, almost cheering Yuuri's spirits. It wouldn't be long until Conrart and Wolfram found them, they had made it to the Capital and once things were sorted and settled, they would be able to approach the rulers of Conansia Svelera and negotiate a treaty.<p>

Gwendal didn't even pause in his stride, carrying them both right to the massive double doors of the church one hand stretching out to shove it open without even pausing to consider if something was going on inside. Both of them stepped into the cool semi-darkness of the church and stopped when it became apparent they had just walked in on a wedding.

The bride, groom and priest were backlit by the massive stained glass windows that ran from floor to ceiling on the other side of the wide airy church. People lined both sides of the main hall, every eye turning towards the pair of them. Yuuri was struck by the striking beauty of the bride, her chestnut eyes widening at the sight of them, a flicker of hope appearing when her eyes settled on Gwendal.

"Next time, we knock." Yuuri hissed to Gwendal, who had practically pulled them both inside.

"Oh what perfect timing!" The elderly priest said with a look of something close to delight. His eyes fell on the chain that bound the two of them together before his shoulders lifted and he became more animated. "Let us receive a word of blessing from these two strangers who are obviously more experienced in a life bound by love."

That had to be one of the corniest lines in history, given the fact that Gwendal and Yuuri were chained together like two criminals.

"Trust me, Sir, we are not bound by love." Yuuri remarked, one eyebrow lifting as he turned towards Gwendal a little, amusement tugging at the corners of his lips as Gwendal stiffened slightly at the comment.

"Then what sort of relationship binds you so?"

Gwendal grunted out a rather indistinct answer, fingers clenching at the fact that they were being prevented from getting the chains off by the fact that they had just interrupted a wedding because of his own bad judgement.

Yuuri actually rolled his eyes at Gwendal, before offering the bride a wide, apologetic smile. They had after all interrupted the couple's wedding and what could a few words honestly hurt? "Marriage is not about circumstances or necessity." His heart ached at the thought of his own rather how he had ended up married himself, yet didn't regret a moment of it. "A true marriage is about both of you wishing to be together. It is a pledge, a commitment to the love and happiness you can only find with the one you cherish above all others. Even if no one knows of what you share together, it is about knowing in your heart you have found where you belong, you've found... _home_. You complement each other perfectly, like two gloves fitting together."

"You're right!" The bride suddenly stated, her eyes widening on Yuuri's face.

"Yes..." Yuuri blinked slightly.

"You're right! Once you've found your mate, you can never be paired with another. They're a set and they make you look terrible when they don't match. That's the nature of gloves, isn't it? And love..."

"Love is the sharing of a soul." The disguised King nodded with a smile, his eyes warming and glad that she too knew that feeling. It was there in her eyes, the understanding of his words.

Suddenly the woman flung off both her veil and her bouquet soared upwards into the air and suddenly she was running towards Yuuri and Gwendal, her soft white and pink dress flowing behind her as she moved. In her wake she left both bridegroom and priest stunned and the guests shocked. "Your words made me realise that for myself, thank you."

"You're welcome?"

"You kept me from marrying the wrong man." Her hand suddenly curled around Yuuri's free one, tugging at him as she called. "Hurry! Run away with me!"

In what seemed quite fitting for the craziness of the past two days, the bridge tugged Yuuri back out into the sunshine, Yuuri reaching back with his other hand to curl around Gwendal's wrist above the manacle to prevent the man's wrist from being yanked dangerously hard by their awkward run.

"The bride is making a break for it!" Someone shouted loudly behind them.

"Catch them, they're fleeing with the bride!"

This was going to be one heck of a story to tell Conrart when he caught up to them.

"My name is Nicola." The called back to them, guiding them through the streets of the city, dipping and weaving their way through several alleyways. "And you are...?"

"Yuuri." He supplied, before glancing back over his shoulder at Gwendal. "And this is Gwendal."

"He's from the Demon Tribe, right? He looks exactly like an old friend of mine."

It was quite some time before they finally stopped in a hidden little alleyway between multi-storeyed buildings, the diffuse sunlight spilling down over them as they rested with their backs to the faintly warm stone of the wall.

Gwendal stood silently beside Yuuri, clearly coming to the same conclusion that Yuuri rapidly was as they were making sense of the statement from Nicola. It was clear Nicola had known Griesela Geigen Huber, but in what capacity neither of them were quite certain.

"Let's take a break here for a minute." She was panting hard, her face flushed, yet her skin was almost ghostly pale beneath the splash of pink. "I need to rest."

A strong hand gently touched her elbow, Yuuri steadying Nicola and freeing Gwendal's still partially full water skin from the man's belt. Blue eyes narrowed on him for a moment, before nodding once and Gwendal glanced back the way they had come, keeping watch as Yuuri offered out the water skin and she drank a little, smiling at them both gratefully.

"Are you well?"

"Yeah, it's just that I'm pregnant."

Both of Yuuri's brows shot upwards at that, looking her over and only then noticing the slight swell of her belly, which were well hidden by the flare of the dress that she wore. He didn't release her or pull away, just allowing her to lean against him rather than the wall, coaxing her to drink a little more and to calm her breathing.

"I... the groom... wasn't the father." She admitted softly, the colour flooding her cheeks darkening.

Realisation suddenly hit Yuuri and he was slipping his manacled hand down and grasped the paper he had slipped into his pocket, unfolding the poster he had taken from the small town. Eyes sweeping her face again, he was becoming more certain by the moment that this woman was indeed the same one in the picture considering the description and the fact that unlike most women Yuuri had seen in this world, Nicola's hair was cropped short around her beautiful face. "Have you seen this before?"

"Hey, it's me!" Nicola looked quite surprised, staring at the image and nodding. "That's Hube and myself one month ago."

"Lord Griesela Geigen Huber?" Gwendal's jaw clenched, his blue eyes burning with an oddly bitter light, narrowing just a fraction on her.

"Wait, how do you know that name?" Her brown eyes widened, gazing up at Gwendal hopefully, shifting forwards just a little, slipping free from Yuuri's supportive touch as her legs recovered beneath her.

"That man... is my cousin!" It was a positive roar, Gwendal's hands both clenching into tight fists.

"You're really his cousin... Hube's cousin?" Nicola's features brightened with hope, taking a step forwards and towards Gwendal. "I can't believe I ran into a member of his family." Suddenly she looked almost embarrassed, cheeks turning a rosy pink again. "Excuse me... I'm pleased to finally meet you."

Gwendal's back struck the wall and his fists clenched even harder as they slammed back against the stone, startling both Yuuri and Nicola with the action. "That idiot! I'll kill him for this!"

* * *

><p><strong>Desert, Conansia Svelera<strong>

"A few of our men suffered burns from coming into contact with the beast's saliva, none of the wounds are serious." The lead guard in the squad that had accompanied them into Svelera said to one side of Conrart, his glance took in the fact that Lord Weller was clearly concerned about the safety of the King. "However, it appears that one of the men has appeared to have left. His name is Ryan."

That was enough to startle Conrart out of his troubled thoughts, his head turning to regard the guard riding beside him. His jaw finally unclenching, his fingers slowly beginning to uncurl from where they had practically had a death grip on the reins. "Ryan left?"

"Yes, Sir. He told one of the men that he had felt that he had met his true destined one." The man paused, eyes widening slightly at the description and shaking his head wryly. "What do you think he meant by that?"

"I believe he was an extreme animal lover..." Conrart considered it for a moment, before almost feeling a bubble of amusement at what he had been told, knowing it would have brought a smile to Yuuri's lips at such a description. "We won't require the punitive team to go after him. Sometimes a man truly does find his true love in the most unexpected of places."

"Yes, Sir." But the guard was smiling at that too, seeming to relax as the tension seeped out of their Lord and future Prince. Everyone had become aware of just how restless Conrart Weller was, clearly needing to head out as soon as possible, but remaining with his soldiers attentive to their needs and that of the horses.

"He'll be alright, that man always finds his way out of trouble."

Conrart jerked to glance back at his other side and at the blonde seated on the horse that had pulled up beside his own, green eyes filled with concern and understanding as they watched him. "Wolfram?"

"Gwendal will watch over him, Conrart, our brother would never let anything happen to the King... he would never let anything happen to a member of our family." His words were softly, before he reached out one hand to lightly squeeze Conrart's shoulder firmly, offering him a grin. "Knowing them, they'll probably have found trouble, disposed of it and been standing around waiting for us by the time we get there. You can go all... gaga over him then, so stop moping, it's just not like you."

A real smile tugged at his mouth then over the fact that Wolfram was attempting to cheer him up, his expression softening and he rubbed a hand over his face, aware of the stress that had been eating him alive for the past two days. His nerves were strung tight and sleep had seemed an impossibility. "I never knew you could be so reassuring, Wolfram."

"Well, don't get use to it." The blonde huffed, nose lifting into the air, but his expressive emerald eyes showing that he was only teasing and that the wall that had long stood between them had finally began to crumble. "We'll be able to get some answers at the outpost, they might even be waiting there for us." A hand gestured towards the town that had appeared out of the shimmering heat of the desert.

"I hope so..."

* * *

><p><strong>Kviria, Capital City, Conansia Svelera<strong>

Their breathing and the heavy rattle of chains were the only sounds that seemed to fill Yuuri's ears as they ran, his eyes darted around taking in the rather curious looks that they were getting as they moved through the open space. Venders actually stopped calling out to passing travellers to take in the three of them running one behind another in the most ridiculous manner.

Suddenly Yuuri jerked to a halt, Gwendal almost ploughing right into his back, while Nicola staggered and was caught in Yuuri's arms for a moment as he steadied her. His head twisted, brows drawing together as his senses tingled with that familiar flare of warning that had occurred several times before when he sensed danger. Both of his hands caught Nicola around the hand and was drawing her quickly into one of the alleyways off to one side. The King tugging silently on the shackles, coiling them around his arm to help silence the rattle and bring Gwendal closer to him.

"_Gwendal_." It was a hiss of sound, Yuuri sweeping Nicola behind him, tucking her between their two bodies and the wall, his back to her. His hand immediately dropped to his sword hilt that was finally revelled when he shifted the cloak back enough that he could slip it free if need be. The noble was immediately on guard, Gwendal's ears finally hearing the shouts of several men as a party suddenly exploded past the alleyway from the direction they had been heading in.

"We need to get off the streets." Yuuri said to Nicola, his gaze touching on her face for just a moment before returning to the entrance leading to the alleyway.

"What is it?" Gwendal rasped, his own sword having dropped down to rest on the hilt of his blade.

"A warning..." A warning that something big was definitely coming, he could feel it inside of himself, feel the discord... the rumble of distant thunder that proceeded the storm. "Non-specific." He sighed. Ulrike was far better at interpreting such things, all he knew was to always listen to his own magic when it attempted to 'talk' to him.

"This way," Nicola spoke up, her eyes deeply troubled as she drew them along more carefully now, their eyes easily spotting the guards that filled every street they passed. The guards were the same from that town, their hair looking even more outrageous the more often he spotted them.

Yuuri and Gwendal knew they were being slowly boxed in, their bodies stilling at a crossroad, both warriors keeping Nicola protectively between them.

Abruptly there was a tug at the edge of his cloak, his eyes immediately dropping down to regard a small boy with the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen on a human child before. He could have been no more than six, yet there was a keen intelligence in those wide soulful eyes that touched Yuuri's soul in a way he couldn't quite describe.

"This way!" The boy called over his shoulder as he took off, little legs easily carrying him faster than one would think possible for a child that small. The child scampered down and into the remains of what appeared to have been a window at some point in its existence, waving at them.

And Gwendal was the one that urged them to follow, willing to accept the help of the small innocent boy.

They found themselves in some type of white plastered barn, the darkness within a cool relief from the city outside and the scorching heat of the day that pressed down on them. Yuuri propped himself against the wall beside Gwendal, allowing the man to lean against the doors and peer out through the gap in the two hard wood panels. His sword rested near his hand, the sheath having been slipped free of his belt for easier access just in case they had need of it.

"Thank you." Yuuri said to the young boy who sat before them, gazing at them with both curiosity and wide azure blue eyes. "We are all in your debt, young man." He offered him a smile, one that was as genuine as his words, watching the boy puff himself up just a little at the praise and smile back at them. "What's your name?"

"You are of the Demon Tribe, aren't you?" Gwendal's low rumble almost startled Yuuri, but his words also confirmed Yuuri's thoughts about those intense blue eyes that watched them intently.

"Yes. My name is Jilta."

Awareness struck Yuuri hard in the chest and he straightened, his gaze drifting from Jilta and back towards Nicola with a sudden realisation that made him want to kick himself for his own stupidity. Though given the fact that they had been non-stop running through the streets of the Sveleran Capital it was a little understandable.

The intelligence in those blue eyes could be easily explained by the fact that most children of mixed and pure blood of the Demon Tribe took far longer to mature. He still could remember the time he had actually asked Conrart how old the man was and was stunned by the answer and the fact that he was expected to live far longer than he had ever considered possible.

"Your parents..." He was almost hesitant to ask, desperately hoping that this child, this boy who had helped them would not have lost his parents to the laws that governed this kingdom.

"My daddy died." Jilta whispered softly, his blue eyes closing for a long moment, swallowing a little before brightening. "My mummy went far away to work."

"Probably at the quarries." Nicola added.

Pain burned a hot trail through Yuuri Shibuya's heart, his lips pressing together as he gazed at both Nicola and Jilta knowing that he had not been wrong in what he had been wanting to do. This was just more evidence of the reason why. The suffering and pain Conrart had felt for being a half-breed... the memory of his husband's tears making his fists curl beneath the edges of his cloak. He would not allow these people to suffer, he would fix this no matter how long it took, he would fix this _travesty_ and not allow another life to be lost to such kind of grief and torment.

"Women who are guilty of this are put to work there." Her eyes glanced towards Yuuri and then down to the shackles that ran from the King's wrist to Gwendal's. "It's the punishment for this crime. Well I'm sure you know that it's a crime to love a Demon Tribesman. Is that why you two eloped?"

Now that drew Gwendal's head around towards Nicola, a scowl immediately coming to his lips, he was actually grimacing. "Not to me." His eyes actually rolled upwards in complete and utter exasperation, remembering well the last time he had caught the King and his Consort together by the Well, the pair of them were hopeless. "Trust me you'll know who when their together."

"I'm married, Nicola." Yuuri said softly. His fingers already lightly touching the pledge ring he wore, thumb brushing back and forth across its surface in the familiar gesture that held to calm his aching heart. "Gwendal is my Brother-In-Law by marriage, my husband is Conrart Weller. I am not human."

It was in that moment that he finally allowed himself to reach up and free the contacts that had been making his eyes burn, slipping them out and carefully slipping them away into a small container he carried to hold them. Rich obsidian eyes blinked once before closing as he leaned back, his fingers rubbing over them and letting out a quiet sigh of relief as the sting began to let his back press against the wall.

"I came to talk to the King of Conansia Svelera about the people imprisoned in those quarries and the fact that citizens of the Great Demon Kingdom were being treated as they have been. The King of the Great Demon Kingdom wants to help this country find its feet again during this drought. I have seen the suffering of its people first hand... the starvation... the desperation of the people in the villages. You are not forgotten, Nicola, nor you, Jilta, by the Maou." He knew he couldn't say who he was, it was just the way of it, but he could give them the reassurance that they deserved, the knowledge that someone did care. "I'm like you, Jilta... and like your child, Nicola... as is my husband. We are both born of marriages between humans and Demon Tribe."

Jilta's eyes were wide in surprise and amazement as they gazed at the shorter of the two Demon Tribesmen before him, his mouth opening a little when dark eyes opened to gaze down at him. The colour wasn't a dark blue or even an inky brown, they were a true deep black. They weren't cold at all, but filled with an understanding and warmth that made the boy smile. "Do you think... I could see my mommy again?"

A hand reached out to brush lightly against the little boy's hair, smoothing it back from his face with such gentleness. "I promise you, Jilta, if your mother is out there, I'll see you reunited with her and you all are welcome in the Great Demon Kingdom." Though his dyed brows drew down slightly in thought. "Who are you living with now Jilta?"

"I live at home, it's just Grandpa and me." He smiled at the thought of his grandfather. "They say I was born far away and that a demon Tribesman brought me to my grandpa for safe keeping."

"More than likely a travelling Demon Tribesman." Gwendal answered, his blue eyes glancing back towards them. "He probably rescued the child out of sympathy."

Gwendal leaned his back against the wood door again, his body slumping slightly as his eyes closed and he let out a ragged breath. The effects of the esoteric stones on his strength were beginning to show, though the exposure was low enough not to immediately incapacitate him, it was enough to sap everything from him the longer he remained in the city.

"Gwendal." Yuuri's eyes gazed at the man beside him, worry slowly beginning to appear in those obsidian eyes. He had never seen this strong man like this, almost looking ill.

"I'll be alright." The nobleman reassured Yuuri, attempting to offer him a half-smile, but just leaned his head back against the wall. "I am merely tired."

A hand reached out to carefully draw out the his water skin beneath the edge of his cloak, feeling just how empty and light it was, the side of his fingers also brushed against the coins that rested at his side. Picking one out of it, he gave Jilta a warm reassuring smile, knowing that they all needed to eat and drink to build up energy reserves until the others arrived in the city. The gold piece glinted between small hands, the boy staring down at it in wonderment.

"Buy us a few pieces of fruit, Jilta and keep the rest for yourself and your Grandfather."

The boy was immediately on his feet, fingers curling tightly around the gold coin and looked quite determined. "I'll be right back!" He said over one shoulder as he slipped away into the darkness of the barn and out some small hole that no other could squeeze through.

"I saw trees outside." Yuuri said softly, his eyes glancing towards Nicola, offering her a small smile. If there had been greenery, it hinted that there was a water source somewhere underground to support them. "They were green weren't they?"

"Very." Nicola admitted, confusion running across her features before shifting just a little in surprise as Yuuri set the empty water skins down after having pinched Gwendal's empty one.

Blue eyes drifted half open as Gwendal rested, both brows wanting to shoot upwards as he watched Yuuri reach out and set both palms against the ground, dark eyes shimmering with a flicker of intense blue magic, highlighting the fact that the pupils had rapidly shifted. He had only witnessed this twice before himself, the power of the Demon King. However, he could not believe that it was occurring in a city which was parched dry and flooded with esoteric energies.

"What are you...?"

"Shhh..." Yuuri whispered softly, his chest rising and falling as he centred himself, knowing that this was just as much for them as it was for him. He needed to feel that connection again, even for a moment with the element that dwelt so deeply within him. Slowly he allowed himself to fall into that thin spider web of water that ran so deep down below the earth that he didn't think he could reach it.

The first droplets of water however were starting to form between the two massive stone slabs just beneath him, the molecules of water inching their way upwards between the pores in the rock and sand. It was almost like it was singing to him, responding to his presence with jubilation and welcome.

A large calloused hand stretched out, slowly stretching across the back of one of his own, dwarfing his a little. And it was in that moment as he connected back to what had seemed so distant he felt something _more_. It was like a connection suddenly snapped together within his skull with a resounding 'click', and it wasn't just the water he was sensing any longer, it was the earth, the hot sands and cool stone. The strength and steadiness of it. He could almost taste the power that surged upwards from it and into him, the earth seeming to ease away and allow the water to pass, helping to bring it to the surface.

The droplets turned into a tiny pool before slipping into the two water skins, filling them slowly at first, gaining speed as Yuuri finally began to understand the deep element that was _earth_, that was... Gwendal. His head jerked up, staring into wide navy eyes which were locked on him, the shock on his face starkly visible in the gloom. Colour flushed across his face, the man's body seeming to relax, the strain leaching out of him as Gwendal was flooded with magic again for several long minutes, easing away the pain.

Yuuri's hand jerked back with a muffled sound of surprise, landing heavily on his rear and grunting out a rather interesting expletive. Nicola had stoppered both bags before the water could seep back into the cracks it had come from, her eyes staring at them in wonder.

"I felt that." He whispered in shock, shaking his head slightly and swallowing hard. "I felt _you_. Your magic..."

"I never realised." Gwendal rasped as he sat up straighter. "The true power of..." Shaking his head and silencing himself.

They both glanced towards Nicola who was watching them with something between fascination and amazement, there was no fear in her for what she had just seen.

"That was... amazing." She whispered softly.

"Tell me about Geigen Huber." Gwendal suddenly interrupted, his expression sober, attempting to redirect the conversation before it went somewhere it shouldn't. Though he gestured for her to drink from one of the skins as they shared the other between them, just enough to ease their desperate thirst.

"I worked in a quarry producing esoteric stones." Nicola murmured, her eyes clouding over with distant memories and even more powerful emotions. "It was near Zorashia. That's where I met Hube. He showed up there about a year ago." Her fingers curled slightly, but felt relief when a warm hand curled around her own, offering her strength and comfort. Nicola looked up into understanding dark eyes, feeling some sort of tingling heat slide up from where his fingers touched her, soothing her own aching heart with his sincere understanding of what she felt. "We spent a lot of time together and quickly warmed up to each other."

_"Since meeting you, I regret my mistakes anew. You made me realise that love has no boundaries." _Hube's words echoed deep within Nicola's soul as did the deep guilt and regret he had carried deep within him.

Gwendal stirred, his jaw clenching at the sparks of anger that still resided within him. "Did he dare to tell you what he had done in his past?"

"He didn't, but... I didn't want to ask him. The wounds from it seemed far too painful."

And it was in that moment, watching Nicola's face, seeing her love for Lord Griesela Geigen Huber in those brandy coloured eyes that his anger towards the man shattered into a thousand pieces, swirling like a storm within his mind, still trapped within his soul.

Nicola related to them about Hube's search for the Demon Flute and how she had helped him.

"So that is why he came to your village."

"Hube said that the Demon Flute was inside the quarry, which was being mined for esoteric stones." She paused for a moment, fingers clenching tightly around Yuuri's. "I was so enthralled by him, I took the key from the church and then in the dead of night I entered the quarry with him. That's when... we found it."

"You did?"

"Yes, but... then... things went horribly wrong when the town elder found out we had it."

"And since the Demon Flute belongs to the Demon King..."

"We rushed to flee our lodgings, but we were soon caught and Hube was nearly executed."

"So you mean that..." Yuuri's eyes widened and tipped his head back to look at Gwendal. "So what Gunter told me... it was merely a distorted version of what happened. The fact that they fled their lodgings... he was mistake for the Demon King because of what he was carrying."His other hand shifted, rattling the chains as he curled that around Nicola's too, encouraging her to continue. "What happened to him?"

"Well I... I agreed to marry the elder's son in exchange for Hube's life." Tears filled her wide eyes, her hands trembling beneath Yuuri's own as tears slowly ran down her cheeks. "I was so desperate."

"We'll find him." Yuuri reassured her gently, drawing both of her hands to his chest just over his heart. "You have my word, Nicola, if he is here, I will see to it that you are both reunited."

"What became of the flute? Was it confiscated?"

"No... I have it right here."

Yuuri released her hands, blinking in surprise at her response.

"Hube left it in my care shortly before he was captured and taken away from me." She reached into a fold of her dress and withdrew something from within, offering it out towards Yuuri. "This is it."

It was made of a dark chocolate brown and tan wood, the pattern swirled all along its carved length as it rested in the palm of her hand. It looked quite incomplete if he thought of it as being something like a recorder, which he had once played as a child. It was plain, but that didn't detract from the odd beauty of it.

Yuuri's hand reached out for it, fingers carefully closing around it and he jolted sharply, being reminded of the time he had handled the obsidian that had been in Morgif's hilt. There was ancient magic coiled deep within this object, his fingers practically fisted around it, before he hurriedly dropped it squarely into Gwendal's lap, forcing himself to drop it. Without Conrart he didn't trust himself near something that radiated so much magic.

"Yuuri?" Gwendal questioned, concern drifting across his face for a moment.

"It's the real thing." He let out a short breath, before drawing his knees up against his chest, trying to clear the crazy surges of magic that practically fluttered through his blood right then. "Its... it's not complete. Look at the end... there should be a mouth piece... I entrust it to your care, Gwendal."

Jilta suddenly appeared back through the small hole, ending the conversation as he offered them all a big grin and a bag full of purple fruits.

* * *

><p><strong>Outside Kviria, Capital City, Conansia Svelera<strong>

"What are you looking at, Brother?" Wolfram asked as his horse stopped beside Conrart's dun coloured stallion.

"A wanted poster for some elopers." His eyes dropped down to the image, shaking his head slightly, definitely sure this couldn't be Yuuri and Gwendal.

Wolfram snatched the paper out of Conrart's hands, gazing down at it for only a moment before snorting. "Hogwash, it looks nothing like them."

The evening sun was dropped down behind the massive castle at the heart of the city, the brilliant golden and red rays of the dying sunlight glinted off the high domes and almost made the city look like a jewel set in dark blue and purple shadows of a desert crown.

A shiver suddenly rippled through Conrart, his head jerking upwards as he felt a surge of awareness strike him hard in his gut, his fingers curling tightly around the reins of his horse for a moment. It was so intense it knocked the breath from his lungs, when he suddenly knew that Yuuri was in danger. He had felt it before, a tug on his senses, but it had never been this strong before as if Yuuri was attempting to reach out for him.

His booted feet thumped hard into his horse's flanks sending the beast surging forwards, Wolfram letting out a startled cry behind him as Conrart urged his mount into a full out gallop across the sands, knowing he didn't have much time at all until Yuuri might just be out of his reach again.

"I'm coming, Love." He breathed, his expression fierce as he urged the horse even faster, leaning down low against its back, holding on tightly with his knees. "Just hold on."

* * *

><p><strong>Kviria, Capital City, Conansia Svelera<strong>

Yuuri's hand closed around Gwendal's shoulder and shook lightly, feeling the man jolt upwards abruptly at the contact, navy blue eyes snapping open as Gwendal realised he had fallen asleep propped against the wall. The King held a finger to his lips as he shifted around Gwendal, gazing out through the gap between the wood doors. Dismay registered on his face, his jaw clenching slightly, his expression showing that it was definitely nothing good. Hand closing around the hilt of his sword, he shifted his weight, but did not draw it. Worry showed on his face as he gazed into Gwendal's face again and noted how pale the man was, even after the slight improvement he had seen earlier.

"Come on out!" A soldier called, his voice breaking through the heavy afternoon silence that had settled on the barn and its four occupants. "We know you're in there!"

The leader swaggered forwards to the front of a band of at least two dozen soldiers who were all armed with spears. "Hand over the bride and come out quietly!"

Jilta squirmed away from Nicola, sliding himself into a small gap against the back wall where one of the large stones had been moved aside to reveal one of the passageways that ran underneath most of the city. His small body easily slid halfway down into it. "Over here, over here quick!" Called in a hushed whisper, one small hand waving at them to follow him.

"Take Nicola to a safe location, Jilta." Yuuri was quickly searching his clothing and coming up with a small time piece that bore the mark of the Great Demon Kingdom on it, it was something that had been given to him by Lord Von Grantz, Adalbert's father as an engagement present. It was something that Conrart, Gunter or Adalbert would recognise as his. Pressing the item into her hands, he curled her fingers around it before tugging the bag of gold free from his belt as well. "Take this, Nicola. Use it to get yourself, Jilta and his grandfather to safety in the Great Demon Kingdom, say this is from Yuuri. They will understand."

"Tell them Lord Von Voltaire vouches for you." Gwendal rumbled, his eyes meeting Nicola's and just once reaching out to rest on large hand against her shoulder lightly in acceptance of her into his family. "Now go."

"You know... Hube really is a nice guy once you get to know him." Jilta suddenly said as he slipped deeper into the hole. "He's the one that brought me to my Grandpa's house. He even came to visit us every now and then. That's why I helped you out, you look like him. "

"Come on out of there!" The soldier bellowed again.

"Go quickly, we'll give you as much time as we can."

"Promise me you won't get hurt, okay?" Nicola pleaded softly with Yuuri, having quickly grown to like the young man who always seemed to be attempting to look out for her and anyone in danger.

"We'll be fine." Yuuri flashed her a reassuring smile. "This is nothing."

Finally Nicola moved away, disappearing down through the hole and out of sight after Jilta.

"You ready for this, Brother?" Yuuri asked as he wedged his shoulder beneath Gwendal's and kept the man on his feet, knowing that the longer Gwendal stood the more chance at escape Jilta and Nicola had.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He responded, with a weak half-smile.

However just before Yuuri moved, he gripped Gwendal's sheath and yanked hard, wrenching it free and flinging it and his own blade towards the hole where the two had vanished moments before. Both skittered along the ground before dropping with a dull thunk into the gap, disappearing from sight. He knew they would stand a far better chance of not being killed if their of them was found to be armed.

Yuuri lashed out at the doors, slamming them open so hard that it knocked several soldiers backwards and away from the door as they stood there, the harsh sunlight streaming down over them.

"You dare resist?"

Gwendal and Yuuri charged as one, Yuuri actually glad he was a half decent fist fighter, his body slamming fully into one guard sending him toppling backwards into several others, while Gwendal was covering his back. It was a team effort, both of them trying to down as many soldiers that swarmed around them, attempting to keep them distracted for as long as possible. The two men fought like the warriors they were, not going down easily.

However, it was Yuuri who the length of their manacles suddenly wrenched him around as Gwendal blocked a blow, unbalancing him and sending him into the fist of one of the soldiers that slammed into his stomach. It knocked the air from his lungs with a whoosh, sending him to the ground and almost pulling Gwendal with him. He was struggling to get up, forcing himself back up when his body was knocked flat to the earth as Gwendal launched himself forwards large body shielding Yuuri's own.

"We want them alive!"

And abruptly only the dull ends of the staffs pressed into Gwendal's back, pinning him there as he sprawled on top of Yuuri. His chest was heaving, the fight having almost been too much for him.

"Gwendal!" Yuuri struggled, his body still pinned beneath his brother-in-law's, knowing that they were both too exhausted to fight against these men any more.

"If you had both come quietly in the first place, we wouldn't have had to hurt either of you, fools."

Another soldier came rushing up to one side of them, his expression grim. "Sir, the bride is nowhere to be found."

"What?"

Gwendal lifted his head just enough to gaze at the soldiers around them, keeping Yuuri pinned beneath him, as if trying to protect someone far weaker than himself. "Their mistaken, we are just elopers." His wrist lifted upwards, showing the evidence of their 'crime' to the leader of this large band of brightly haired followers. "That's all, we lost sight of that woman on our way here."

"In any event, you two are obviously criminals. Take them away!"

"On your feet!"

Yuuri shifted beneath Gwendal, both of them managing to get up and onto their feet. His arm wrapped around his stomach, staggering a little from the fierceness of the blow that left him almost violently ill. He braced his shoulder beneath Gwendal's and knew that their only chance of getting out of this was more than likely the arrival of Conrart and Wolfram... Yuuri knew he didn't have the control or the ability to draw magic enough to him to be able to defeat these guards. They were effectively trapped.

"My prince." He whispered as they were both dragged away.

* * *

><p><strong>WOW I have to admit I like Gwendal's line to Nicola about Yuuri being married to Conrart. XD He actually rolled his eyes! HEHEHEHEHE.<strong>


	14. Part 14: Broken Earth

**Author's note: This must be the fastest update I've ever done for this size of chapter! LOL must be because I so wanted to see this happen. I hope you like it. **

**Disclaimer: own nothing but the Prince. **

**Dedicated to Cheryl! Thankyou my wonderful WONDERFUL beta!**

* * *

><p><strong>Kviria, Capital City, Conansia Svelera<strong>

The cart jolted along the roadway, bouncing them against the solid wood planking beneath them. They sat on either side of it, their arms resting against their knees to allow the length of chain to swing between then and not rub at their already raw wounds. Yuuri shifted a little against it and gazed at Gwendal before allowing his eyes to close and his head to dip down against his chest.

"Why do you stick your nose into everything? You could simply leave such affairs of the country to your retainers." For once, Gwendal felt comfortable enough with Yuuri to actually voice all of the questions that rattled around inside of him. "You could live a life of luxury in the castle."

That actually made Yuuri smile, eyes remaining closed as he rested his chin against his drawn up knees. "I wouldn't know the first thing about living in luxury."

"Don't you like anything decadent? Gold, gourmet meals...?" He couldn't include 'women' considering the fact that this was the man who was quite literally attached to his brother and had eyes for no one else. Gwendal had started to get to know Yuuri, to truly see the man that had gone to such efforts on behalf of their kingdom.

"What would I do with gold?" Yuuri's brows lifted, his lips turning upwards at the corners and looked a little amused at that. "The only time I even touch some of the gold that I have access to was when I was getting these made..." Yuuri lifted his hand, displaying the simple gold and silver band he wore which was identical to his lover's. "And the sword I had commissioned as a gift to Conrart." His features immediately softened at the thought of his beloved, his heart overflowing with the love and desire he felt for the man. "My idea of luxury is sleeping in with Conrart... just spending a morning together... sparring, reading... or just curled together talking."

"You are an unusual man. Those who come into power, tend to want to use it for their own gains."

"All I want... is to make a world where Conrart will never have to fear persecution again by others, I want to make a world where Jilta can live and never have to fear what will happen when he grows up. I can't stand to see someone suffer, Gwendal, be they human or Demon Tribe. I know what it's like to be the one persecuted and hunted down like an animal."

"I..." Gwendal was stunned by that, remembering back to the time their king had been sent back to the other world and his brother's frantic worry. It was _true_.

"I'm not perfect and I know I won't get everything right, Brother. However, I'm not afraid to admit I need help. I need you and Gunter, Conrart, Adalbert, Gisela... Wolfram. I need you all to help me build that world where no one has to fear anyone else, where war is nothing but a distant dream. I want us to walk that path together."

"_Idealistic_." The older man chuckled softly, but his heart warmed completely to the man who had become part of their family. Yuuri really was becoming the core of their very kingdom, a voice that spoke out for not only those of the Great Demon Kingdom, but for those who had no one else to hear them. "But...I think if anyone were to be able to do all that... it would be you."

Suddenly it jerked to a halt before a rather large imposing building, both of them rocking slightly with the motion before the small sliding door was opened at the end of the prisoner wagon.

"Get out!" The guard grumbled, glaring at both of them.

* * *

><p>Two guards flanked them and two moved before them, their movements in perfect sync, like trained soldiers they paraded through the halls of what appeared to be a courthouse. The light that filtered in through the tiny windows placed high on the wall refracted through the facets of the thousands of esoteric stones that were imbedded in every wall. Yuuri could almost taste that power in the air, a bitterness that he was starting to associated with the presences of such stones.<p>

Gwendal was shuddering slightly, his powerful body reduced to a trembling mass of clenching muscles and aching bones. His jaw gritted as he almost stumbled, pain radiating up through him as the intensity slowly began to build around him, draining away what remained of the strength he had been given through his contact with Yuuri when he cast the spell to summon water to them.

Strong arms caught him, one slipping beneath his arm and the other resting against his chest, taking a lot of his weight and supporting him. None of the guards moved to help them, all they did was stop and almost smirk to see how much pain was being inflicted upon Gwendal. Several snickers escaped two passing guards, their eyes glinting with sadistic pleasure.

"Gwendal." He shifted, hauling the man upwards and refusing to let him drop to the ground. "Easy." His palm pressed against the man's side, attempting to gather what magic he could to send trickling into his body, hoping that the healing energies Gisela had been teaching him to channel would be enough to sooth away the worst of the pain.

"_Yuuri_." The man whispered, eyes closed and attempting to force himself upright, a tiny bit of his strength returning. The pounding in his head began to ease away, his laboured breathing calming.

"More along!" One of the guards snapped out, the metal cap at the end of the man's staff pressing up under Yuuri's chin, tipping it upwards and making their eyes meet.

A low sound escaped Yuuri, but he forced himself to straighten, both of them slowly beginning to move again. Gwendal managing to keep his feet as Yuuri's strength seeped into his body. He wanted to protest against it, but knew that if he did, consciousness would slip away far too quickly for him and he would no longer be able to watch out for their King. Gwendal truly understood right then what Conrart saw inside of their King, the strength and compassion that touched everyone around Yuuri.

Soon massive wood-panelled doors swung open before them to reveal a court chamber, where three elderly men in white formal robes sat to preside over them. It looked almost like it had been brought from earth, yet, there was something sinister about this place. A darkness that hovered just beneath the surface, poisoning everything and everyone within its grasp.

The moment they stood in an open backed raised box before the three elderly humans. A hush fell over the space.

"Attention, the trial shall now commence." The lead judge's voice echoed through the large space, silencing the soft chatter that came from one side of the room.

Yuuri's head turned slightly, suddenly aware that it wasn't just the judges and guards in this place, along one wall a massive tapestry stretched from one side to the other, spoiling the perfect circle of the room. Indistinct shapes moved on the other side, the faint outline of faces watching them... smiling with glee.

"What's this?" The lead judge looked down at the piece of paper in his hand, his chin propped up on the other as if this very trial seemed a waste of his time. "You're both male? Furthermore, he's from the Demon Tribe, yes? He appears to be in great pain."

Gwendal's head lifted, jaw clenched against the burning agony he was suffering, though his eyes met those of the judge sharply.

"Very well then, let's settle this promptly." The judge gazed down at them with something approaching disinterest. "I can safely conclude that the two of you have run off to elope, but neither of you match the descriptions of anyone in the current warrants. Therefore, in order to release your shackles you must renounce the bonds of your affection here before the court. In this land, humans and Demon Tribe cannot wed under any circumstance. Were you aware that the violation of this law is a felony warranting execution? All you need to do is display before this court your deep hatred of him and the Demon Tribe."

Suddenly a guard moved over to them, a blade being set on the edge of the wood railing before Yuuri, its sharp blade reflecting his pale face as he stared at it in horror.

"Demonstrate your true feelings towards the Demon Tribe with that knife, you only have to wound him a little."

"Do it." Gwendal rasped, his blue eyes closing tightly against the pain.

Yuuri could hear the whispers again, the pleased voices of people watching them. However, he could hear words of dissent, one strong voice that echoed above the others. He couldn't make out the words, but he could feel them. They were here. With a sick realisation, his eyes took in the differently uniformed guards that stood along the length of the tapestry, their weapons and clothing a little finer than those around them. The rulers of Conansia Svelera were watching them with glee over the killing that might take place.

His fingers curled around the hilt of the blade, knuckles going white as white hot rage filled him. Suddenly it was flung with surprising accuracy, a blur of motion too quick to see. It sliced through one of the ropes that held the massive tapestry in place and with a flutter the barrier came down and hung limply from one side.

A half dozen people stood around two thrones, where a woman and man sat, their expressions startled by being suddenly revealed to the entire courtroom. A young man stood on the steps, his back to Yuuri, his body tense and trembling with rage, which wasn't directed at Yuuri or Gwendal but at the royal couple.

"Is this your answer?" Yuuri's voice was a low deadly purr, his eyes narrowing on the two finely dressed individuals who both held goblets of fine wine. A table stood fully stocked with delicacies of all varieties, however it was the floor that truly made Yuuri's temper almost snap. Like those on the passenger liner, bones and other discarded pieces of food littered the entire dais that had been hidden away behind that barrier, but the thing was, most of those pieces were hardly touched, as if discarded just because they knew they could.

"You dare to address us! You dare to...!"

"You eat like pigs while your people _starve_? You find entertainment in the deaths of people whose only crime was that they loved each other enough to stand against you?" Yuuri was moving forwards, Gwendal moving behind him, leaning heavily against the edge of the railing. "The Demon Kingdom has willingly offered you aid, food and water for your people..."

"Filthy animal!" One courtier remarked in disgust as their eyes fell on Gwendal. "_**Whore**_." The word was directed towards Yuuri.

"Is what he said true, _Father_?" The young man who had been clearly the one arguing earlier addressed the King of Conansia Svelera.

"So what if it is, Boy?" The man rose to his feet, face slowly beginning to turn purple with outrage. "Would you have us accept such things from Demons?"

"If it meant ending the suffering of our people, then yes!" The Prince stood right before his father, shoulders straightening and clearly willing to finally challenge the monster that sat upon the throne of a dying kingdom. "I would go on my knees to the Demon King if it safe the life of one child."

A hand whipped around and struck the young man full across the face splitting his lip and sending blood spraying across the floor. "Worthless brat. Hold your tongue."

"I won't any longer." And green eyes turned to regard Yuuri for one long moment, the heir to Svelera's throne looking upon them with determination burning in his eyes, before he turned back to his father. "Can't you hear the voices of the people, Father? They are starving and they have nothing left to lose. Your corrupt officials and soldiers are being challenged more and more. One spark..."

"You dare to speak of rebellion to _me_? They would not dare!"

"They would and more. Those women in the mines have families, Father. All those people that you have had put to death have people who cared for them. I will not be silenced."

"I would listen to him." Yuuri said softly, his voice however echoing through the space, his eyes hidden by his hair. "You have a chance to change the fate of your country. You are at the turning point..."

"SILENCE!"

"He's been brainwashed." The woman finally added, her eyes were vacant of any life or warmth, they just stared down at them impatiently. "Have the Demon beaten... see if that works to free his mind." There was some kind of morbid curiosity in her expression, a lust for blood that chilled Yuuri right down to his soul.

Gwendal's body swayed as he tried to take a step forwards and draw Yuuri into the protection of his body, when his legs finally buckled out from under him. His knees connected with the floor with a painful jolt before he sprawled across the polished stone, body trembling with the agony he was caught in.

The guards were raising their staffs over their heads, glee shimmering in their eyes as they gazed down at Gwendal sprawled out before them like a sacrifice offered up for their amusement.

"GWENDAL!" Yuuri's fear was palpable as it echoed in his voice.

He launched himself forwards, body covering Gwendal's own as much as he was able, his head pressing against charcoal locks, arms shielding the man's face. With a whoosh of displaced air, the first wooden staff struck him powerfully across the shoulders, knocking the air out of him, but he didn't cry out as raw pain flared up through his body. After the first they rained down over him, striking him everywhere, but he held on, determined to protect the half conscious Demon beneath him.

A powerful strike landed hard against the back of Yuuri's skull, setting a ringing in his ears. Vision blurring, all Yuuri could feel was pain... but as he slipped into darkness, he knew he had protected his brother with everything he had in him. He sprawled limply across Gwendal's back as the continued to beat him for the pleasure of the Queen.

* * *

><p>"Soldiers, check out this alley." The squad leader commanded several of the other men that were scouring the streets for the missing bride, their torches lifted to illuminate the heavy darkness that had settled in the deep alleyways between buildings.<p>

"Understood, Sir!"

Jilta sat near the small space at street level, peering out through the gap created by two large bricks being pushed outwards to make a crude window. His intense blue eyes watched as booted feet passed by him, his lips pressing together in a firm line as he turned back to gaze at Nicola with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, don't worry. This child's like you, its heart beats with the blood of the Demon Tribe, so this little bit of hardship is really no problem." She sat on the cold stone floor, her arms wrapped around her stomach protectively, the chill of the night air beginning to settle in her bones. "My child is very strong."

Suddenly a pair of boots stopped at the gap just behind Jilta. A loud gruff voice filtering through the hole. "Is someone in there?

Both Nicola and Jilta recoiled from it in fear as they could hear more men arrive at that opening.

"Don't hide! Come on out!"

"Come on! Hurry it up." The three guards stared down at the hole, one of their torches having been held out so that they could see that the hole actually carried on well into the cellars of the building. "Who's in there?"

A brick scrapped and was drew back inside the cellar, a strikingly handsome face appearing in the gap, illuminated by the harsh glow of the torches. "Sorry about that." Conrart offered them a slight smile, though he didn't feel an ounce of happiness, especially not at that moment, sensing that Yuuri was in danger but not quite knowing where to go. "Is there some kind of a problem?"

"What are you doin' in there?" The lead guard demanded.

"Well I..."

A rather feminine sigh sounded from inside the space.

Conrart offered them a soft smile of embarrassed amusement.

"I see." All three men leered slightly at that, rather delighted by that particular feminine voice. "Well don't loiter around her for too long, you'll interfere with the search."

"Keep up the good work." The half-breed offered with a smile, and remained by the gap until he was certain the guards were gone before he turned back around to glance towards his rather off-put younger brother.

"Damn it, Brother, why do I have to pretend to be a woman?"

Conrart wished he could laugh, that he could find the usual humour in this particular situation, but his worry for Yuuri and Gwendal filled his heart and soul. He glanced towards the back of the dark cellar and the two people hidden there. "You can come out now."

"Thank you, Strangers, you saved our lives."

"Yes, thank you." Jilta added in as they stepped out from behind a massive wooden object that had been stored leaning against the far wall, which had given them enough space to slip behind and hide during the charade."

"You're more than welcome." Conrart attempted to offer them a smile, but it quickly died, his hand lightly rubbing over his face, wishing he could ease the painful squeeze on his heart.

"Is this the time for pleasantries. Let's go out there and look for the others!"

"We should... but that boy appears to be of the Demon Tribe." And just might have answers about Yuuri.

"Are you two of the Demon Tribe too?" Nicola asked cautiously. "I don't suppose you happen to know Yuuri?"

Conrart was immediately on his feet, his expression revealing the desperate concern that he felt for his lover, his cinnamon eyes swirling momentarily with silver. "You know Yuuri?" His heart had firmly lodged itself in his throat, the man taking a step towards the woman, hungry for any news of his beloved. "You know... him?"

Nicola's brandy brown eyes widened with sudden realisation of exactly what Gwendal had meant about recognising the one that was married to Yuuri. The burning love in those eyes told her all she needed to know and knew that she could trust these men. "You must be his husband, Conrart Weller."

Wolfram's eyes widened suddenly at that, mouth dropping open to stare at Conrart in shock at that news.

"_Yes_." His left hand roughly rubbed back through the long locks of hair that had fallen around his face, the pledge ring identical to Yuuri's glinting in the faint light from outside.

Nicola and Jilta sat on the bed in the brightly lit accommodations that Conrart and Wolfram had been forced to take when their initial search had given them no clue to where either Yuuri or Gwendal had gone. Conrart hadn't been able to sense Yuuri, it was as if something inside of him had been almost killed and the silence left him agitated and on edge. However he knew these two could offer them much needed information.

"Do you know where they are?" Conrart asked from where he was leaning close to the window, his eyes flicking out to check the street every few moments to make sure that no soldiers appeared near the entrance to this particular inn.

"I'm sorry." Nicola breathed, her regret and guild almost palpable. "But I have no idea what happened to them after we escaped."

"There is one other matter that has me concerned." The half-breed straightened, his expression grave. "You are of the Demon Tribe, aren't you?"

"Yes." The little boy nodded.

"I would appreciate it if you could guide me to where your family is."

"Grandpa is safe now." Jilta suddenly said, his wide blue eyes staring at Conrart for one long moment, before his fingers curled in his lap. "Yuuri gave us money... and so we saw him for a little bit after we escaped to give him some. He went away to a safe place." One that they couldn't risk going with him to, because they both would now be recognised by the soldiers and Jilta didn't want to leave Nicola on her own.

It was so like Yuuri to be thoughtful like that. Conrart swallowed around the lump that formed into his throat at the thought of his husband, of the man who loved him just as much as he did in return. "Nicola, if they have been captured, do you have any idea where they would have been taken?"

"Yes, I do."

Wolfram started at that. "What?"

"When elopers are caught by the authorities, they are always taken to one particular place for punishment. Yuuri might be taken to the quarry where esoteric stones are mined if they don't realise he's Demon Tribe. Gwendal would be kept in the underground prison..."

* * *

><p><strong>Gnoziri Mines, Conansia Svelera<strong>

Yuuri's body slammed into the hard stone, every muscle and bone screaming after what had been done to him before he had been brought to this place. Livid bruises spanned the length of his body from the beating that had quite literally knocked him unconscious. It was only the jolt of impact that awakened him with a rush.

"Yeah, I know. But what good would it be to lock a man up in here?" The coarse accented words echoed down the steep stairwell from one of the guards that had flung Yuuri quite literally down the steps.

"Doesn't matter, the big guy was sent to the underground dungeon , so the little guy has gotta go in here." With those words, the door slammed shut with a creaking groan of protesting hinges, the heavy metallic shriek telling Yuuri that they had blocked the way with a metal bar across the door.

He lay there, trembling for several long moment, his breathing harsh against the stones beneath his cheek, before slowly beginning to push himself upwards, his entire body screaming in agony over what had been done. However, he didn't make a sound, carefully sitting up and managing to stand, his hand finding the edge of the wall to support himself. His gaze flickered up towards that dark shadow of a doorway, but knew it would be pointless to try to make it budge. It was sealed up tight and he was in no shape to escape.

"Are you alright?" A concerned female voice sounded from near his shoulder.

"I will be fine..." Yuuri turned his head and looked down at a woman with strikingly blue eyes, before managing to give her a half smile. "Thank you." Her concern touched him deeply, his eyes softening as he leaned more heavily against the wall, his breath rattling out of him.

"You're a man... what are you doing in here?" Surprise sounded in her tone, blue eyes widening as she realised Yuuri was definitely not a boy, but a fully grown man. "Men can't do the work, only women can mine esoteric stones."

"I guess... considering Gwendal and I are both men... and I'm the smaller of the two of us..." A hint of amusement coloured his expression for only a moment. "They mistaken my brother-in-law and myself for elopers. Talk about... mistaken identity."

"So they mistaken you for a woman too?" The woman brightened a little at Yuuri's gentle manner and attempts to make levity at his own circumstances. "I don't see any breasts or big hips."

"I would hope not, my husband rather likes me as I am."

All of the women laughed softly.

"What's your name, you sweet thing?"

"Yuuri." He responded softly, his eyes closing for one long moment, drawing in another lungful of air. "Yuuri Weller." It was his name after all and he wanted just once to use it, needing the comfort of something that belonged to his beloved Conrart.

"My name is Norika." Though her concern grew at the ashen colour of Yuuri's appearance. She was gesturing for several of the ladies to help her as she slipped beneath one of Yuuri's shoulders, helping to steady him and move him to one of the raised palettes that lined the large stone chamber. "Here... let me have a look."

Yuuri sat there, completely unresisting when his heavy jacket was slipped from his shoulders and his shirt followed and were set down beside him as Noriko looked him over with something near horror. His usually pale white skin was dark black and blue in long welts that ran mostly across his back and shoulders and ran downwards, his chest had not been touched since it had been pressed to Gwendal's own back. However, his chest still bore the silvery scars of years of similar beatings, horrifying several of the women that crowded around him.

"You must really love him..." Noriko whispered softly as she gazed at Yuuri's back, her fingers dipping into a bowl of salve that had been brought to her. Carefully brushing her fingers over the first of the overlapping welts, she was surprised that he didn't even flinch away from her touch, remaining perfectly still.

"Gwendal is my brother... be it by marriage... not blood, I couldn't stand to see him hurt. I do love him, he's family." Yuuri's head tipped forwards, the dyed strands falling into his face and hiding his eyes from view. "My husband will come for me." He knew deep within his heart that Conrart would not rest until he was found again, it was the one thing that kept him from feeling hopeless.

"It would be impossible for him to get through the guards to this place."

"Impossible?" The Demon King shook his head, offering her a true smile. "Conrart would tear the world apart looking for me. My husband... loves me more than anything else in the world and I love him. There is nothing I wouldn't do to protect him and those he loves."

"You are a very loving young man."

* * *

><p><strong>Kviria, Capital City, Conansia Svelera<strong>

Gwendal sat propped against the wall, his legs spread before him, the manacles around his ankles clinking together when he moved even slightly. He could not shake the memory from his head, the feeling of the warm body covering his own, the jerk of it as the powerful blows struck his King instead of himself. It was in that one moment he had given his complete loyalty to the Demon King, knowing that he could never repay the debt. It was more than likely that the beating would have killed him in the state he had been in. His life belonged to Yuuri.

His strength was all but gone, thankfully some of the sickness along with it, his head dropped back to rest against the wall of his cell, hoping that somehow Yuuri had escaped the forces that had dragged him out of the cell beside Gwendal's. He could still remembering the muttering of the guards and the exchange of coins between men as it was clear someone had actually paid to have Yuuri transported from the prison to the mines. It was an action that might just save their King's life.

Esoteric stones glittered around him, shimmering with their own internal light, like stars set in stone. It was almost... beautiful in a way.

The sound of a pair of footsteps in the corridor outside of the cells had him lifting his head, straightening as much as he could given the position he was in.

Two guards stood outside the door to his cell, staring in at him as if he was some kind of specimen in a cage.

The first one snickered, smirking as he stared in at Gwendal. "That sure keeps him quiet, eh?"

"Yeah, I don't think he can use his precious demon powers in a cell full of esoteric stones." The second replied with a low chuckle.

"Isn't he being transferred to the underground dungeon in the palace?"

"Come to think of it, wasn't another one of those Demon Tribesmen sent down there?"

"That's right, but I heard that the fool was able to break out."

Gwendal jerked, his heart clenching at the thought of his cousin, for all his anger and hatred towards the man, he still cared about Griesela. Jaw clenching, he said nothing in response to their words. Yet a strange sense of relief filled his heart, knowing that he could at least tell his Uncle and Aunt something... could give them reassurance that knowing Griesela, the man was most certainly alive.

"From the palace dungeon?"

"Can you believe it? Like I said he's a fool, probably nothing more than a shrivelled up corpse in the desert by now."

"Damn straight."

Suddenly both men vanished from the small barred window at the door to his cell, his body tensing as he stared at it, hearing the brief sounds of a struggle before silence. Conrart's face appeared where the guards' had been, cinnamon eyes filled with a deep concern, but also relief at the sight of Gwendal inside.

The lock clicked open as Conrart opened the door. "You really got clobbered, Gwendal."

The door creaked open and Wolfram hurried forwards, heading straight for Gwendal.

"Gwendal are you alright?" Abruptly Wolfram's knees buckled out from underneath him, sending to down to the floor with a startled groan of unexpected pain as he doubled over at the powerful affect the esoteric stones had over them both.

"Don't strain yourself." Gwendal rumbled as he gazed at his brother, though his expression was a touch haunted by the events of the last few days and the fact that he had been unable to keep his promise to his brother to keep the King safe.

"Gwendal's right, Wolfram, the esoteric stones are effecting you." The man's words were gentle but he was already moving past Wolfram, needing to ask the question that rested in his heart, but finding the words choked back in his throat.

"This is nothing!" The blonde replied indignantly, but they all knew it was something, he just didn't want to show weakness in front of either of his older brothers, especially not given this particular situation.

"Why did you come?" Gwendal rasped, his body shifting as he tried to relieve some of the discomfort he felt given the situation. They should have been searching for the King, not him.

"I'm pleased to see you still in the land of the living, Brother." The half-breed responded as he was quickly making short work of the manacles that were clamped tight around Gwendal's ankles holding him fixed in his cell. It was only after they dropped away that Conrart managed to find his voice, cinnamon eyes staring up into Gwendal's, a heart-stopping fear in them. "Is Yuuri here, Gwendal? Is he... in one of these cells?"

The answer was barely above a whisper, Gwendal's eyes closing in guilt. "No."

The pain in Conrart's eyes was almost unbearable.

* * *

><p><strong>Gnoziri Mines, Conansia Svelera<strong>

The burning hot sun beat down over them. There was nothing that could offer any of the prisoners any shelter from its power or its ability to rob people of their strength. Soldiers stood around watching them, their glee obvious in the way they lashed out at anyone that so much as paused for a moment to catch their breath and try to bolster their own strength.

Yuuri stood atop one of the ridges, his fingers curled around one long wooden wedge that he had propped up under a rock and was attempting to lever it down the slope. Every movement was sheer agony, bruised and strained muscles screaming across his shoulders and back, but the stone half gave under just the use of his weight against the wedge. Sweat beaded across his brow, trickling down across his skin as he continued to work just as hard as the women around him.

"What are you doing? Hurry it up or no food for you!" One of the guards down in the pit behind Yuuri shouted acidly up at him.

He made not a sound of reply, but suddenly felt the burning ache ease as another person's weight was added to the lever and the stone went rushing down the side of the steep hill, crashing and cracking slightly when it came to a jarring halt on the other side. Head turning to the side he found Norika beside him, her expression worried and understanding as she regarded the taller man beside her.

"Thank you." He gave her a small grateful smile as he straightened, wincing only a little before wedging the end of the lever beneath the next large boulder.

It went far more smoothly the next time when they worked together, Norika admiring the fact that the young man offered no complaints or even made a sound of pain despite the brutal damage that had been done to him by the guards. His honest, gentle smile warmed her, allowing her to see the compassionate soul within.

"These women aren't just those who married a Demon Tribesman are they?"

Norika shook her head slightly. "These women are those that the judges deemed to have had an inappropriate relationship... or those that refused to give into the advances of corrupt officials." Her eyes darkened with a few sparks of pain, the dark ocean blue colour misting over with anguish. "I loved a man of the Demon Tribe."

"My Conrart..." His voice choked on his beloved's name, worry filling him, not knowing whether the man was safe or where he could be. "Those responsible will be brought to justice." Even if he literally had to tear this country apart to do it. The sorrow in the eyes of the women he had seen the night before had shown him that he couldn't stand back and waist sometimes. "It's why... I came to this land, I was sent by... the Demon King to make things right again. He wants you to know that you aren't forgotten, that you are welcome in the Great Demon Kingdom... all of you. But I... I won't give up, not here and not now."

"You're a good man, Yuuri Weller." Norika whispered softly, her smile warming. "And so is this King of yours if he sent you on such a mission. It... it touches my heart to know someone... does care."

And Yuuri knew the pain had been worth it to hear such words, to know that someone would more than welcome the help he wanted to offer to them.

"I can only hope my son turned out like you." Her expression was wistful. "He'd be ten if he was still alive."

His hand lightly touched against her cheek in understanding, glancing back for just a moment towards the guards who had turned away from them for just a moment to watch something else happening back nearer the main building complex. In that one moment, he reached out with both arms and wrapped them around the trembling woman, hugging her tightly to him, his hand resting at the back of her head, just cradling her for long moments. She leaned into him, finding strength and comfort in the understanding he had shown to her.

Yuuri's eyes gazed over the top of the woman's head and at the empty barren plain that spread out between the lifeless mountains that surrounded the mine. His heart ached at the sight of a thousand tiny markers that stuck up out of the earth, marking the place where both children and women had been buried.

It was then he realised what had distracted the guards moments before and he stiffened, staring down at the official flanked by two guards, one of them carrying a bundle wrapped up tightly against his chest.

Norika stepped away and followed his gaze, her eyes widening with horror.

One of the women ran forwards, her long grey-brown braid swinging behind her. "Give him back! Please... I beg of you, give him back!" Her face was streaked with tears as her hands tugged hard at the massive guard's clothing, trying to reach the bundle that the man held. "He's still alive!"

"Shut up!" The official snapped as he turned back around, ruddy face flushed with irritation. "Your baby's dead. Get use to it."

"Give him back!" She pleaded helplessly, eyes shimmering with desperation. "I know he's still alive! Give him back!"

Yuuri was already halfway down the slope, boots sliding in the dust and rubble, not caring that his body screamed, not caring about anything other than protecting that child and returning it to his mother. Dead or alive, it belonged with its mother.

"STOP!" Yuuri shouted, "I SAID STOP IT!"

The women immediately lifting their heads from their tasks, startled by his shout.

Yuuri came to a stop before them, fingers clenching into fists, his eyes burning fiercely with his emotions as his gaze met and caught that of the official stilling the man. "Is that child _dead_?" It was a low dangerous sound, a warrior challenging someone to battle, his expression darkening by the moment.

"The doctor said it was too far gone to bother with."

His entire body jerked at those words, knowing exactly what that meant and his gut roiled in horror and rage. They were going to bury the child _alive_. It was still alive.

"Give it back!" The first of the shouts echoed from the gathering women as they put down their tools and moved forwards a little, supporting the mother who was still desperate to get back her baby.

"Everyone, shut up! Quiet down!"

Yuuri took that moment of distraction to charge the guard, one shoulder connecting with the man's gut forcefully, his other wrapping around the bundle he had dropped as the air went out of his lung. Yuuri dropped to his knees, arms wrapped tightly around the child, feeling the warmth of it against his chest, the squirming weight of it in his arms. It was alive. The baby let out the softest of whimpers in protest to the way it was being held.

"My boy! My precious boy!" The woman dropped to her knees before Yuuri as he carefully handed back the infant tenderly. "Thank god!"

Slowly the man began to stand, his back to the officials, his head bowed as women began to gather around them and the mother. Turning around, his long hair framed his face, the strands beginning to darken, the reddish brown dye fading away to leave the deep pure black behind. Where water would not answer his call, the _earth_ did. It was all around him, screaming in pain from the invasion of so many hands and tools stripping it around, leaving it broken and crying out for all the tiny lives it had been forced to take.

The connection that Gwendal had given to the earth flared as hot, throbbing magic pulsed all the way through him to the bone as white hot rage filled him. The ground vibrated beneath his boots, trembling with the force of his bright fury. It sent many of the guards to their knees as powerful gusts of wind slammed into them, driving them down before vanishing again into nothingness from which they had been formed.

"_You hurt them._" And tears were sliding slowly down his cheeks in anguish for what had already been lost, what had been taken from the women who watched him in both amazement and a few in terror. Yet, his tears held them, the honest emotion being shown so physically was shed for their children and for those women who had already died. "_You have murdered innocent children and used the very earth to finish off the deed._" He had no fancy words, no lengthy speech, just rage... rage and an endless grief. "_How? How can live with what you have done? The atrocities committed for what... money? __**Greed**__?_"

Awareness filled Yuuri, knowing distantly that others were coming, others with good hearts.

"_I am not the one you will answer to._" However, a hand lifted slowly, the ground vibrating gently as guards were starting to feel their boots begin to sink into the loosely packed earth. Any that tried to run found themselves sinking even faster into the earth. When it reached their knees, it stopped, the ground packing itself tightly around their lower limbs, clamping around them and holding them fast to the spot. "_I will not stain this earth with more blood._"

Their weapons were snatched away from the now trapped guards, the women turning the tables on the men, finding in that moment their freedom. They were victims no longer, their voices raised in their vindication against those who had dishonestly persecuted them.

Norika stood there watching him with wide eyes. "What you said to me... about the King..." There was no fear in her expression as she watched him, only several women had fled the moment the guards had began to be swallowed by the earth, but most just moved in closer. They had not been touched, nothing had happened... They just watched as the men clawed at their legs, desperate to get themselves free of it as they heard the thunder of hooves and saw the brilliant green banners that fluttered across one horizon.

"_I care, Norika._" One hand lifted to touch against the tears that continued to slide down across his cheeks. "_I want to... save Svelera.. I want to save children like your son, because I am just like them._"

"It's the Prince!" One of the women whispered, shocked at the sight. "Its Prince Reiner himself! He's... he's capturing the guards! The Prince has come to save us!"

Suddenly Yuuri was turning his head, aware of a voice rising above the sound. Joy slammed through him as he saw Conrart sliding down one of the hills towards him, his obsidian eyes filling with relief and the soul deep love that surged through him. Both of his arms stretched out towards his own Prince, feeling his magic begin to surge from within his control. His emotions roiling out of control as he was being consumed by it, consumed by an element that was not quite his own, but still answered him just as strongly. The tears of the earth, its wails of pain were too much for him.

"YUURI!"

Strong arms were suddenly around him, snatching him up off the ground and against the powerful intoxicating warmth of his body. His heart pounded out a while beat beneath Yuuri's ear as he buried his face against it. Conrart cradled him, easing himself to his knees, just rocking the man in his arms, allowing him to sob out the painful emotions that wracked him so violently. He didn't even notice the pain of his body, just desperately clinging tightly onto the man who was his anchor in the wild storm of magic that sparked around him.

"I'm here, Love." He breathed tenderly against Yuuri's hair, a kiss pressed against his temple. "I'm here..." Conrart almost felt the magic that rushed around him, the power of it staggering, yet, Yuuri had controlled it, not giving in to his rage.

Soldiers were spilling into the space around them, banners flapping in the breeze that had been stirred up by Yuuri's power. A young man Conrart didn't recognise was dismounting from his horse and approaching them carefully.

It was surprising to watch several of the women including Norika step into the way of the man and the soldiers, shielding Conrart and Yuuri from his eyes and determined to protect the man who had protected them.

"We won't let you harm them." Norika's chin lifted stubbornly.

But Yuuri didn't hear the words as his strength slipped away and he sagged into Conrart's strong arms, aware of only Conrart's steady heartbeat sounding in his ears.

* * *

><p><strong>Not as dramatic as in episode 14... BUT! Yuuri actually shows control this time, a control he hasn't had before really and I think he deserves to be applauded for that. Now maybe we might just see peace between Svelera and the Great Demon Kingdom! <strong>


	15. Part 15: Flowers In The Desert

**Author's Note: This chapter is about character interactions more than action and I love it! I have decided that I will continue this story to at least the end of the First Season of the anime. Which is actually quite a daunting task. But! I have a few plot twists and ideas for it that would definitely make this very VERY interesting. I hope that puts a few smiles on your faces! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but Prince Reiner.**

**Dedicated to Is_sm. My thanks for that wonderful review you left me, it made my night. **

* * *

><p><strong>Gnoziri Mines, Conansia Svelera<strong>

He felt like as if he were awakening slowly from an oddly comforting dream. It was the first time he had felt warm in days, a heat that travelled all the way down into his soul and soothed away everything else that troubled him. Something soft brushed against his mouth, coaxing and tender, his head tipped back almost eagerly, opening under the familiar kiss that sent hot tendrils uncoiling through the length of his body.

Moaning in protest when it drew away from him, something cool and wet slipped into his mouth while his lips remain parted and he swallowed. Water was trickled into his mouth and down his throat, easing the clawing thirst that still gripped him, the back of his head was supported by a strong arm and his legs rested over one knee.

"That's it, Love." Those silky soft lips touched softly against his throat, before drawing back and he turned his head away when he had had enough water to drink. "Easy now."

"My... Prince..." He breathed out, dark eyes slowly drifting open as he gazed up at Conrart, staring into the swirling silver brown eyes that gazed down at him with love and worry. "I always seem... to get myself into trouble." Giving him a shaky smile, he was slowly pushing himself upwards in Conrart's lap, feeling a hand move down to rest against the centre of it and he almost flinched as his beaten flesh throbbed hotly with pain. "Sorry for worrying you."

"Sire."

Yuuri's head turned at the sound of that voice, his eyes widening and relief filled him at the sight of Gwendal standing beside Wolfram, both of them watching over Conrart and Yuuri. "You're alright." His expression softened, a genuine smile coming to his lips. "I was worried... after you collapsed..."

"I'm far tougher than you think." Gwendal rumbled, but dropped down onto one knee beside them, his dark blue eyes concerned. "Are you...?"

"Don't worry yourself." Taking in the sight of so many soldiers and unfamiliar standards flapping in the breeze, he knew that they didn't have time to worry about something that couldn't be changed. His own injuries could wait for a more important time and place.

"Your Majesty." A familiar voice had Yuuri turning his head as he stood, not noticing Conrart's questioning look that was shot at Gwendal as if asking for explanation. The young man he had seen earlier in the court room stood before him, a hopeful smile on his face while he bowed low in respect to Yuuri. "Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner, we were all unaware of the fact that it was you who had been the outspoken young man from the trial. I am Crown Prince Reiner of Conansia Svelera, I had hoped that our first meeting would be in better place and time."

"It is quite understandable." Yuuri offered him a smile, before taking in his surrounding and the fact that the women were already being treated by several military doctors who were seeing to their health. His brows drew together slightly when he glanced around the place, but could not see Norika anywhere.

"Sire." Prince Reiner looked almost embarrassed, his young face paling a touch. "The offer you made to my Kingdom..."

"Still stands." Both of his hands reached out and carefully settled one the young man's shoulders, squeezing warmly. "You are not alone, Reiner. We stand with you. We will see that this country once more stands proud beside the Great Demon Kingdom."

* * *

><p>She was digging with a board, scraping away at the hard packed earth, her wide ocean blue eyes filled with desperation as she continued to open up what appeared to be the grave of a child. "He's gone! Why!" Her fingernails were digging frantically into the earth, hands tearing at it, searching for anything that remained of the child she had lost.<p>

Yuuri was dropping to his knees beside her, his face etched with concern, before he leaned forwards and started to dig himself, even as others around them started to stare as the King of the Demon Tribe assisted the human woman. He soundlessly helped her, needing to be able to do something for a woman who had offered him kindness when she didn't need to, when she was the one suffering most.

"He's gone," She gasped out between dry sobs, her movements beginning to slow as she found nothing within the grave that had belonged to her son. "How could this be?" Her gaze turned to Yuuri, searching his face for answers, ones he could not provide. "He's gone! My baby's gone! There's nothing left of him! No proof that my boy once lived. I know ten years is a long time... "

He moved in closer, arms sliding around her body and pulling her close as she trembled violently with her grief.

"Jilta!" Norika's wail shattered the world with its heart-wrenching pain, but stopped Yuuri cold.

"Jilta?" He knew that name, knew that face of the little boy who had helped them only a few days before. His eyes stared at the empty grave, not certain if it was possible, if such a miracle could be given to them in the midst of such grief. Before he could say anything more, he heard the crunch of feet along the ridge path, people moving up over the rise towards them from the encampment below.

"Norika!" An old man shuffled his way up the path, his call of his only daughter's name a rasp of relief and joy.

Her head lifted from where it hung close to the empty grave, her blue eyes turning towards the sound of her name, her mouth opening in shock.

"Norika!"

"Dad, is that you?" Her expression showed a little of her joy at seeing him, but not enough to chase away the burning grief that had been renewed at finding her son's body gone from the grave he had been buried alive in.

"Norika, you survived." The elderly human's body seemed to relax, his fingers however were white knuckled on his cane as his other hand rested against the shoulder of his grandson whom was watch them all with a hesitation and silent hope. "I never thought I would see the day when I showed you your boy."

Jilta took a tiny step forwards, vivid blue eyes wide. "Are you... really my mother?"

And tears were streaking down Norika's face as Yuuri released her and slowly moved away, giving the family the privacy they needed. He almost let out a surprised gasp when arms curled around him from behind, drawing him back into the protection of Conrart's arms and strength. However, pain still cascaded along his nerves as his back pressed against Conrart's chest, he was forced to lock his knees and smile through the agony that swept through him. He couldn't disturb this moment.

"My Jilta!" Her arms went out towards the young boy who didn't hesitate a moment longer but flung himself into his mother's outstretched arms, her grip tightening around her son and cradling him desperately to her. "Jilta! My precious Jilta."

"What is this?" Gwendal rumbled when he stepped forwards and gazed down into the broken open grave, seeing something hidden in the earth, wrapped up in several lengths of cloth. Carefully leaning down, the man pulled out a small bundle that had been hidden inside the empty grave. Lifting the away the edges of it, Gwendal looked down at the other half of the Demon Flute that rested within the filthy bindings. "Well... now."

"It looks like, Gwendal, our luck truly has changed." Yuuri grinned, unable to help but feel that even after all they had been through the last few days, everything that they had set out to do was finally, slowly beginning to come together.

* * *

><p><strong>The Palace,<strong> **Kviria, Capital City, Conansia Svelera**

"Yuuri." Conrart sat perched on the edge of the bed, his gaze watching his husband as he stood by the large windows, the last rays of the dying sun colouring his features gold, making his dark hair shimmer slightly. His expression softened while he rested his forearms against his knees, just allowing him a few moments to drink in the sight of his beloved, burning it into his memory. "I think you've outdone yourself this time."

Eyebrows lifted slightly at that, Yuuri turning his head around to gaze into Conrart's cinnamon eyes and offered him a tired smile.

"You not only saved the women single-handedly, but you also inspired a revolution." But that was Yuuri, a man who could step into a room and probably be able to create world peace within minutes. There was just something about Yuuri that affected everyone around him, drawing them in and holding them transfixed. "A successful revolution by what we've seen on the streets and palace."

"But they are still out there, Conrart." Yuuri whispered softly, his entire back beginning to throb in earnest now that there was nothing left to distract him from the fact that every inch of it had become bruised and sensitive to the slightest touch. "The King and Queen are still out there somewhere, monsters lurking in the dark... ones that won't stop until they have revenge upon the very people they were meant to serve and protect."

"They will be found and be brought to justice. It may take time... but it will happen." Conrart offered softly, his chin resting against his palm, before taking in the fact that Yuuri was still half clothed. The man was clothed in his cleanest shirt which ran all the way to the backs of Yuuri's knees. While he admitted he always had loved the sight of his lover clad in one of his shirts, right then he wanted to see the man in nothing but his own beautiful skin. "Come here, Love." One large hand reached out towards Yuuri, palm open and a smile coming to his lips.

"I just want to watch... just a little longer."

"How about I bring us some tea?" Conrart stood from where he had been resting on the edge of the bed, before moving towards the door, "I'll be a few minutes."

"I love you." Yuuri said in response as Conrart opened the door, his dark eyes turning towards the soldier. "My Prince."

Relaxing at the fact Yuuri had used that endearment for him, he offered him a warm smile. "I'll see if I can pinch us some biscuits too, Love."

"I'll be here."

And the door shut softly behind Conrart, leaving Yuuri alone with his thoughts.

Wincing sharply, he glanced back towards the door and actually slouched where he stood, letting out a groan and rubbing at his face with both hands. He had already worried Conrart enough as it was. It seemed to be a thing with him, somehow ending up hurt, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated at the most inopportune times.

Shifting around, he was reaching back and actually sliding the shirt up over his head, allowing the fabric to dangle from one hand. Gazing over his shoulder at the mirror that sat against one wall, he grimaced at the sight of his own back, which looked like a very ugly giant black bruise that ran from just above his knees along the back of his thighs , up along his back and neck. He almost wanted to laugh at the fact that he looked almost like a walking bruise, a few places actually matching the colour of his hair.

"Damn..." He breathed, rubbing a hand over his face. The last thing he wanted to do was concern anyone about his own discomfort, there were far more people in the need of a healer than him, the wounded from the battle when the Prince's forces and the very people of the city had rebelled against the guards and taken back their city from the clutches of corrupt tyrants.

There was a sudden metallic clatter and the shatter of ceramic made Yuuri suddenly turn, his eyes widening in shock when he realised Conrart was standing in the doorway. The man was stepping forwards, a mixture of rage and horror flashing through his eyes when his gaze glanced to the side, still able to see the damage that had been done in Yuuri's reflection in it.

"_Yuuri_."

"I..." For once the King actually panicked, his eyes meeting his lover's for a moment before dropping to the floor. "It's nothing."

"That is not _nothing_." The man's fists clenched tightly at his sides, those magnificent cinnamon eyes burning silver, his jaw clamping together sharply. "Who did that to you?"

"The guards during the trial."

Conrart was moving towards Yuuri, one hand reaching out to cup his husband's cheek and lift his face upwards to that he could gaze into the clear obsidian eyes. "Why did you hide it from me?" His voice was raw, his other hand stroking Yuuri's hair back from his face tenderly, fingertips trembling against the pale skin.

"I... I didn't want to worry you." Leaning into that touch, his lips parted as Conrart stepped closer, their bodies brushing together softly, bare skin against tightly woven cotton. "All this was more important. Those women were more important and the treaty too... The people need the healers far more than I do."

"Promise me..." Conrart's face reflected his deep pain that Yuuri had been injured and he had not known, that man's forehead dropped and theirs touched softly together. "You will tell me when you're hurt... I... I want to take care of you, Yuuri." However, he could understand what had been going on in his husband's head, the man had a compassionate streak a mile wide and sometimes that made him do unnecessary things to spare others at times like this. "Don't you understand that?"

"Conrart..." Yuuri was struck by the anguish that glittered in those beautiful eyes, his mouth opening to say something, but no sound came out as he just looked into those darkening pools of silver. "I... I keep... I keep worrying you... it's all I seem to do. I don't want... to cause you such uneasiness..."

"Oh, my Love." Understanding filled those eyes, Conrart dipping just enough to hook his arm around the back of Yuuri's knees where he had not been injured and lifted him upwards so that they were at eye-level for a moment before he cradled his lover like that for a moment against him. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Yuuri settled into his lap, legs tucked on either side of his own thighs, he continued to stroke his fingers through the raven hair, thumb caressing his cheek lightly. "My silly little Love."

The Demon King blinked at the comment directed at him.

"I want to take care of you no matter what." Mouth finding Yuuri's for a moment, he brushed soft kisses against it, teasing at the corners and just expressing his love towards the man in the gentlest of ways. "I want to _protect_ you, be it from enemies, your own powers or the pain when you are hurt. I want you to rely on me, Yuuri."

"I..." Heat burned across his cheeks in embarrassment, before he wrapped both arms around Conrart's broad shoulders, his face burying itself into the crook of his lover's neck. He just held onto him, seeking out the comfort that he had wanted since the beginning and it was readily given to him. "I was so terrified." The man admitted, his fingers clenching into the fabric of Conrart's shirt, his face pressed harder into the warm skin, allowing the scent of the man to fill his head and senses. "I didn't know what had happened to you, Gwendal or Wolfram... I just..."

"Sweet Beloved." And Conrart lifted him upwards again in his arms, carrying him across the space towards where his travel bags rested near the wall, dipping enough, he snagged one of them and tossed it towards the bed where it landed with a clatter and a heavy thump against the mattress. "I would never leave you, nothing could ever keep me away from you. I promise you... nothing will ever keep me from you."

As the half-breed made his way back towards the bed, he felt his shirt begin to loosen, the fabric sliding from his limbs and slip to the floor when it was forced off by clever hands. His belt and pants were dropping on the middle of the floor, almost tripping him and he caught Yuuri's slight smile over the fact that he had squirmed just enough to free them while still remaining curled around Conrart's body.

Conrart sprawled down onto the bed on his back, Yuuri practically sprawled along the length of his body, legs dropping to rest on either side of his own to rest more comfortably. His hand reached across to the bag and his fingers slipped into it, searching around for just a minute before pulling out some sweet smelling herbal salve from inside which Gisela had given to him.

Both hands lifted as the salve was poured onto both of Conrart's hands and they pressed lightly against Yuuri's back, the coolness of the herbal blend almost instantly easing the burning of skin and muscles. Yuuri moaned softly as Conrart began the long process of applying the salve to every inch of Yuuri's shoulders and back, rubbing in slow even circles. The King was sagging into his lover, body shuddering slightly as heat actually began to spark within him, another groan slipping free of his throat.

Instead of burning, his nerve endings were practically tingling after each brush of large calloused fingers against his back. In all his life, nothing had been so sensual as this. Their bodies pressed together from shoulder to hip, skin to skin, Conrart's hands working magic over his aching body, unknotting the tension that had coiled within him.

"Now... promise me." Conrart whispered softly, his eyes dark with restrained hunger as he felt Yuuri beginning to arch into his palms, the strong herbal salve doing its job. "Promise me that you will never hide this from me again."

"I promise, my Prince." Yuuri whispered against Conrart's ear, tongue sliding over the lobe and nipping at it in a sensual tease.

Conrart's response was to slide both hands lower and against Yuuri's bruised rear, cupping it in both large hands and squeezed ever so gently. Hips arched backwards into his hands, a sexy little groan escaping Yuuri's mouth as heat rushed through his features and everything within him was humming with anticipation. It had been far too long since they had been together. Thumbs brushed down into his cleft, smoothing over the silky skin and brushing against Yuuri's entrance.

"Do you want me, Love?"

"_Always_." Nuzzling Conrart's ear again, he lifted himself upwards just enough to find his husband's mouth, their lips brushing once before meeting in a burning hot kiss, that seared them both down to their souls.

Yuuri's lips parted as fingers that had been caressing him earlier were now stroking his entrance lightly. A finger smoothed around the tight muscles and allowing the salve to help ease the digit deeper into him. His knees shifted on either side of his lover, tucking up on either side of Conrart's hips, he trembled as a second digit pressed into him, scissoring inside and beginning to work at the painfully tight muscles. Fingertip finding and caressing his sweetspot, his back arched and he gasped and squirmed in delight. Their lengths trapped between their bodies rubbed together deliciously, heated by their flushed skin.

In response, Yuuri's mouth found one of those tight male nipples and bit down on it, tongue circling it roughly. Conrart cried out in response, back arching a little as his hips thrust upwards, hungry for more of his beloved's touch. Yuuri's hands were not remaining still, they caressed up along the line of his lover's thighs, hips and chest, tracing each scar and muscle.

"Yes." Conrart let out a hoarse groan, as he slipped a third finger into his lover's body, twisting them so that he could stretch those clenching muscles. "So tight..."

"I need you." The King breathed, mouth pressing over Conrart's heart, feeling the thundering beat just beneath them. "I need to feel you inside me, _taking_ me..."

Yuuri was drawn upwards slightly, just enough that Conrart's length slipped free from between them and brushed along the cleft. Rocking back slightly, he pushing himself up on his knees as Conrart actually grasped himself in one salve slicked palm, before the head was pressing against the stretched entrance. Yuuri's lips parted as the head slowly pressed inside of him, his back arching in response to the hot, delicious slide as he was forced to accept his lover's length, the slickness aiding in his long deep penetration.

Trembling, the King felt his body flop forwards at the first full penetration, the angle making sure that both his entrance and sweetspot were caressed with enough pressure to make him positively squirm. Their bodies moved together, sliding and shuddering as heat was slowly beginning to build deep within them both.

"Oh... _God_." Yuuri hissed as Conrart's large palms brushed down across his back, setting fire to all those hypersensitive nerve endings. Thrusting backwards and down, he impaled himself again and again, muscles clenching almost painfully tight around that hard length.

It was impossible for either of them to stop, their hands and mouths touching everywhere, bodies rocking slowly, building up the heat between them with each movement. Muscles coiled tighter and were practically clinging to that hardness, the only reason the man could move was the layer of slick herbal salve that set that passage aflame was it awakened all those nerve endings.

Their voices mingled in the silent room, their bodies arching and shifting together both of them shuddering with the force of what was between them. Yuuri exploded first, back arching, mouth open as he gasped out his beloved's name as he came hard, spilling himself across Conrart's belly. Muscles clamping down around Conrart even more tightly and the man couldn't last any longer, his hoarse cry following Yuuri's call, hips arching and thrusting himself deeply into that tightness, trembling as he arched.

They both slumped in a trembling heap, panting hard and barely able to do anything more than shudder with what they had just shared. Yuuri lay sprawled over Conrart like a blanket, eyes closing as he panted.

"I love you." Yuuri breathed, cheek resting against one broad shoulders as arms carefully closed around him, keeping him close and safe against Conrart's body. "I love you so much..."

"And I love you, my Yuuri." The soldier pressing a soft kiss against his hair and never wanting to let go again.

* * *

><p>There was a soft knock at the door which made Yuuri lift his head from where it had been resting against Conrart's shoulder as the man still slept beneath him. Carefully slipping away from his lover, he was drawing the sheet but up over him to ward off the slight chill that had invaded the room as the evening began to truly settle over the city. Managing to find his pants, he tugged them on and sighed when his belt was clearly nowhere to be found.<p>

Padding across the cool stone floor to the door, he carefully cracked it open, his head tipping upwards and his eyes widened in surprise at the man who stood on the other side. Gwendal stood there, his dark blue eyes unreadable, his jaw set a little, clearly uncertain what to say.

Glancing back over his shoulder at Conrart, it was clear the man was not going to be rousing anytime soon, his large body relaxed amongst the sheets of the bed. A few minutes wouldn't hurt and he silently slipped out of their room and into the hall, pulling the door shut behind him, before offering Gwendal a smile.

"There's a sitting room just down the hall, we can talk there, I don't want to disturb his sleep. He's exhausted."

They walked silently side by side to the room, Gwendal standing silently by the door and just watched him for one long minute, not quite being able to form words.

"You look rather pensive." Yuuri commented softly, his head tipping to the side as he watched Gwendal, before moving further into the room, his bare back turned towards the man before he settled himself in one of the chairs with a sigh of contentment. The pain was there, having slowly returned during the hours he had been curled against Conrart, just listening to the man sleep beneath him, but it was no longer debilitating.

"You saved my life."

The King blinked at that, his obsidian eyes taking in Gwendal's face as he shifted forwards in the chair, just gazing into the man's intense blue eyes and still not quite being able to understand why Gwendal had come to talk to him. "I didn't." Shaking his head slightly, he rubbed a hand lightly through his hair and brushed it back away from his face. It actually surprised him that he wasn't self-conscious, he hadn't even bothered with a shirt, knowing the fabric was just going to irritate the bruises. His scars and bruises were on display, yet oddly enough it didn't trouble him.

"You saved my life and the proof is there on your back." The nobleman finally moved forwards, sitting down on the chair and just gazing at his brother-in-law intensely. "I... I ask for your forgiveness."

"For what?" Yuuri offered him a confused smile. "I'll heal soon enough, it's nothing to be concerned about."

"I ask that you forgive me for ever doubting your intensions. For... not believing in you as I should have." Gwendal actually rubbed a hand back through his own hair, sending the long strands flopping wildly about his handsome face. "I didn't think you were worthy enough for either the crown or my brother's love at first. I might have been convinced of your power but... the way you care about people... no one is ever that selfless."

"I'm not selfless." The man snorted softly, shaking his head and just giving Gwendal a rather large grin. "I'm quite selfish actually, especially when it comes to Conrart."

Gwendal relaxed slowly, truly seeing the man for exactly what he was. A man with flaws, but with a heart and compassion that knew no limits or boundaries. "You truly are... a King."

"Well... I thought that was the point of me being in the Great Demon Kingdom." He attempted to tease.

The older man shook his head slightly. "It is not what I meant. Even without the throne, you would still be a King, a leader. You have what it takes to be that."

A flush suddenly burned across Yuuri's cheeks at those words, his fingers curling together at the praise from a man he respected quite a great deal. "I can't do it alone though." His eyes closed for a long moment and his head lifted slightly, expression sober and serious. "I do need you, Gwendal. I'm still learning how to be King, I'm still a newbie... and I ask that you continue to offer me advice and guidance even when we might not agree on a solution. I need your honesty, I will make mistakes. I will more than likely make many more underestimating people and things around me."

"You have my complete loyalty, my King." Gwendal responded, his intense blue gaze softening. "I would have liked to have seen your wedding ceremony. I would have... liked to have seen the joy that you bring to my brother on his face in that moment."

"Well... you'll get to see it. We are still going to have a proper wedding in the Great Demon Kingdom..." That reminded him of something he had been thinking of asking of the man. It was the oddest and craziest thought he had had to date. "There is a custom where I grew up... where the..." Amused embarrassment flickered across his face, his cheeks reddening a little more before he managed to get out the word. "Bride's father would escort her down the aisle to give her away. I know I'm not a bride... or at least... not a woman... but..."

"You... want me to...?" His mouth dropped open for just a moment as he realised what he was being asked. "_Me_...?"

"There is no one I would wish more than you to have that honour, Big Brother." He flashed him an affectionate grin. "Though I was meaning to ask... considering the fact that we are in fact both male..." One brow lifted in question. "I don't have to wear a dress do I?"

Gwendal stared.

Yuuri paled.

Suddenly the man was practically roaring with laughter, his blue eyes bright with amusement as he threw his head back and just gave in to the flare of joy that filled him, the happiness that invaded his soul.

"I don't think it's funny... I mean honestly... I thought my mother dressing me in them when I was little was bad enough." A shudder of horror fluttered through him.

"No. You are not required to wear a dress." Conrart answered from the doorway, slipping into the room and moving over to Yuuri's chair, lifting the smaller man up from it and seating him in his lap, arms wrapping around the warm, flushed King.

"It would have been quite adorable." Gwendal mused softly, his head tipped to the side as he just studied the married couple before him before a small smile slowly came to his lips. Lord Von Voltaire felt his heart lighten at the sight of his brother's happiness, knowing that Yuuri had been a catalyst that had somehow brought them all just that little bit closer. He couldn't help but offer them a smile that came all the way from his heart.

* * *

><p>The dying notes of the Demon Flute echoed across the desert sands, the music unfortunately lacking in finesse or any great skill, but Yuuri Shibuya had done all he could with an instrument that looked and felt very much like a soprano recorder. His eyes slowly began to open as he lowered the instrument from his mouth and gazed across at Prince Reiner, whom was practically holding his breath, his young face etched with both hope and despair all in the same expression.<p>

Conrart reached out to carefully curl his fingers around the instrument, feeling the magic practically crackle underneath his palm as he drew it away from Yuuri's clenched fingers. Though it actually looked like a forced motion, Yuuri was happy to be rid of it, the instrument soon returned to Gwendal who hovered protectively nearby. The half-breed's hand closed around Yuuri's gently drawing them to his lips and offering him a reassuring smile.

"Nothing happened..." His expression was troubled, lips pressing together in a firm line.

However, there was a deep rumble of sudden thunder that almost made Yuuri jerk right out of his own skin in response to it. His head immediately tipping upwards as the first droplets of rain spattered over his face and clothes, large dark clouds blanketed the sky as far as the eye could see, forming as if by... _magic_.

Taking one deep breath of rain dampened air as it began to fall more quickly, his arms stretched out when Conrart released his hands, his entire body shifting forwards, drawn in by the wash of magic that spilled down over him. The tightness that had been clamped around his chest since he had first entered the deserts of Conansia Svelera lifted and he felt he could actually breath again when it truly began to pour down over them.

Prince Reiner's face was awestruck as he lifted his own face to the heavens and felt fresh cool water spilled down over his cheeks and chin, soaking his hair and clothes. "Rain." He breathed softly, wonder filling his expression.

Yuuri could feel the water, it was as if his awareness spread out with it, feeling it soak down into the desert sands and the parched fields of this kingdom. His eyes shimmered with magic, the dark pupils slitted as he inhaled again more deeply of the warm magic that touched him. "_The darkness has departed._" He didn't know he had ever said the words, his body spinning once, inhaling again the moisture laden air, drawing it deep into himself. "_Wash it away, wash away all its black stain from this land and her people..._"

Lips turning up into a brilliant smile, the Demon King reached out a hand towards Gwendal, fingers spread and his joy beginning to spill over into those around him, the song of the rain lightening the hearts of those who lived amongst the desert sands of Svelera. "_Feel the earth's joy._"

Gwendal hesitated only a moment, remembering the last time he had actually felt the true strength of the King's magic back in that barn, yet seeing the hand stretched out towards him he reached for it. His larger hand curling tightly around Yuuri's after a moment, his entire body jerking as the world almost seemed to explode with colour and magic surged up through the connection into Gwendal. The earth was singing just as the rain did, a joyous melody that ring clearly in the hearts of the two men.

The large man actually had to blink hard to stop the single tear that wanted to run down his cheeks even though it might be hidden by the rain. His heart clenching, Gwendal's grip tightened around the King's hand, knowing that this kingdom would not die... that life had only been waiting to spring back anew.

"_The desert always blooms after a cleansing rain._" Yuuri's smile was one that promised that that would very much happen in Conansia Svelera. They would see flowers and life spring from the dry sands and green an entire nation.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Home." The single word escaped Yuuri as he inhaled the familiar air of Covenant Castle, the hints of smoke and scent of delicious cooking that almost made his stomach growl in response. "It's so good to be home again."

"I have a surprise for you, Love." Conrart leaned against the column of one of the walkways as he watched Yuuri spin around in the late afternoon sun, black hair flying around his face, shirt loose and flapping a little around his body. "One I think you'll like."

"A surprise?" Yuuri's interest was immediately perked, his body stopping as he faced Conrart and just studied every inch of his beloved husband from head to toe, still sometimes unable to believe that this beautiful man was his. _Conrart_. His beautiful, protective Prince. His arms opened to the man, heart spilling over with joy that still filled him since their return from Svelera.

The journey home had been slow and it had been a good two weeks before they had arrived back at Covenant Castle added to the fact that they had spent a week in Kviria working out the finer points of the treaty with the smaller human kingdom and also assisting with other issues that Gwendal knew far more about than he did.

The journey back had been slow because they had visited many villages on their way back, Yuuri checking the water levels and seeing for himself what would be needed to assist the people in recovering from the prolonged drought. The idea was to help the farmers to plant their own crops and begin building up their own reserves as soon as possible rather than just providing food. Tools, seeds and anything else that was needed would be supplied, in exchange for the safe passage of all Demon Tribesmen throughout Svelera and also the insurance that marriages between humans and Demon Tribe would be given the same rights as those between humans.

Conrart came down the few steps off the walkway and to his side, his arms immediately sliding around the warm body of his lover, pulling him firmly against him and lowering his head to press a burning hot kiss against the soft, yielding lips. His hands caressed down the length of Yuuri's back, hands settling on his rear and lifting him to press against his body, Yuuri's feet almost dangling as he practically devoured his lover given the chance.

Arms wrapping around the back of Conrart's neck, he groaned softly with delight, while their bodies fitted together perfectly and he was being practically rendered senseless by his Prince.

"As much as I would love to give in to this... your surprise might get impatient..."

Yuuri's brows flew upwards at that, his lips turning upwards into a smile. "Now what kind of surprise can get impatient?"

"One that will make you smile." Conrart promised softly, before carefully lowering his lover back to his feet and wrapping an arm around his waist, drawing him in warmly against his side before they were moving from where they had stopped towards one of the other courtyards.

His eyes remained fixed on Conrart's face, just entranced by the smile that played around the man's lips before his eyes widened when he heard a surprisingly familiar voice.

"Yuuri, hello." It was feminine and...

"Nicola!" Yuuri brightened even more at the sight of the pregnant woman who stood beside several other familiar faces. It was far clearer now with her out of her wedding dress that she was quite obviously pregnant.

"Excuse me, your Majesty. I truly hope that you can forgive me your highness." She bowed towards him.

"There is no need for you to be so formal, Nicola." His hands reached out to grasp both of her smaller ones and squeeze warmly, thumbs rubbing against the back of them lightly.

"You really are the Demon King..."

"I am, but for you, Nicola, I am Yuuri. You are family to me." Features softening, he hesitated and glanced down at her rounded belly, his eyes drifting back up to her face in question.

"Here... Yuuri." She only hesitated, but complied with his request, drawing on of his hands down to press against the curve, her own covering the back of his.

Eyes widened when he felt the good kick against his palm from within and the flutter of a heart somewhere beneath his fingers. "May this child know peace throughout his life and find happiness wherever he may walk." He remembered seeing Ulrike once giving a common Demon Tribe blessing for a pregnant noble woman and so he hoped that he could offer words that would brighten Nicola's heart.

"Thank you." Nicola breathed out, delight in her eyes. "For the blessing and for also putting me in touch with Hube's parents."

"It went well I hope." He honestly wanted that for Nicola, he wanted her and her child to have a family together until he could find Hube and bring him back to her as well. Nicola and her child deserved happiness.

"Yes, they did. They are such wonderful people, also Lord Von Voltaire vouched for me with them..."

"I think Gwendal is quite fond of you, under all those grimaces and growls beats a kind heart of a man who cares deeply for those he calls family." Grinning, he could already see the older man more than likely scowling at him for such a statement. "Big softie."

"I hope that you all might join me for dinner in the kitchens." Yuuri grinned, his gaze falling on Jilta, Norika and her father. "All of you, come eat with me and tell me all about your trip and what has been happening." Though his gaze turned back towards Conrart and offered his husband a loving smile that came right from his heart. "Thank you." He mouthed and watched as Conrart smiled back at him, cinnamon eyes soft and filled with the same all-consuming love.

* * *

><p>Conrart Weller stood on the balcony, overlooking the castle grounds, his arms crossed on the railing before him as he tipped his head up to gaze at the full moon. His heart was at peace. For the first time when he had ridden through the gates and seen the familiar light grey walls of Covenant Castle, he had actually felt like he was coming home. He could not remember the last time he had felt that way, the last time he had actually felt like he truly was coming home...<p>

"It's a beautiful night."

Cinnamon eyes turned to regard the young man who stepped out from within the castle and offered him a small smile, unable to stop the warmth that was rapidly spreading through his heart to sweep away any worries or concerns that had troubled him. There was something about Yuuri that never failed to sooth his very soul with his mere presence. "Yes, it is."

"Thank you for what you did this afternoon." Yuuri offered Conrart a cup of their favourite tea that they always shared before they retired for the night, the sweet scent wafting up between them.

Conrart reached out and lifted the cup from Yuuri's fingers, sipping on it and letting out a soft sigh of pleasure as it slid easily down his throat, warming him from the inside out. Turning around, he leaned his back against the railing and Yuuri stepped into his embrace, one arm sliding around his slender waist and drawing him against his side as he continued to drink the hot sweet tea. "I like seeing you smile like that." ... Especially when he knew he had been able to create such a look on that beautiful face.

Yuuri's hand lifted to lightly press against Conrart's chest, palm splayed just over his heart and obsidian eyes shimmered with unspoken emotions. "I never knew I could feel this way."

One brow arched slightly in question, Conrart just gazing down into Yuuri's eyes and finding himself ensnared by them.

"Before I came here, I never thought I could honestly feel love. I mean... I have loved people before... but... never..." His lips pressed together, wishing he knew quite how to express himself in that moment. "Never like this. I never dreamed... I could love someone so much as I do you. I would do anything to protect you, my beloved Prince." His free hand lifted to lightly touch his fingers against one warm cheek. "I would tear the world apart to find you."

"Yuuri..." Swallowing hard, Conrart gazed down into those obsidian eyes that shimmered as they reflected the soft light of the moon.

"You are my life, my Prince, _my_ Conrart. I would steal the very moon from the sky and give it to you as a gift if it would make you smile."

"You make me smile, Love."

"I hope I always can."

* * *

><p><strong>Lots of Gwendal! I have found a new love for the man! He makes me smile. <strong>


	16. Part 16: A Stone's Throw

**Author's Note: Yuuri and Conrart play a little game of catch and end up in a very interesting situation. XD **

**Disclaimer: own nothing XD **

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The door opened without a sound as Yuuri slipped inside the room, his eyes taking in his surroundings with interest, studying every inch of Conrart's office with something close to fascination. Maps and books were neatly covering every available surface in the room, several personal items sat along the shelving on one wall between the books that sat there. It was far more usual for Conrart to work in Yuuri's office at the large table before his desk than in this now seldom used office that had once been where Conrart had done 'paperwork'.

Examining several of the items with interest, he paused at the sight of a rubber duck sitting on one of the shelves, both brows lifting in quiet curiosity about its presence here in this world. However the moment he spotted the brown leather peeking out from behind several of the books, he reached out to carefully tug out the worn leather glove that had been tucked back there.

Another glove soon followed, as well as a baseball that rested comfortably in his palm, his fingers easily finding the correct grips and remembering the hot summer days he had spent at the baseball pitch before he had taken up fencing. Lifting the ball to his nose, he inhaled a little, smelling a thousand memories in that one breath.

Slowly creeping over to the window, he gazed outside at the practice grounds that spread out beyond the glass and at the sight of Conrart putting through many of the soldiers through their paces. He had caught a glimpse of disappointment in those cinnamon eyes when Yuuri had excused himself from their morning sparring match, something he knew Conrart always took great pleasure sharing something he had a passion for with a man who shared his love. However, he had needed a little time to actually go _snooping_ and to go in search of the baseball and gloves he knew Conrart had somewhere which he had used with some of the children in a few villages.

Conrart _loved_ Baseball.

Grinning, he slipped all three items into a small satchel slung over one shoulder, before retreating the way he had come and headed down towards the stables. He had started early on the daily round of paperwork and had finished most of it just after breakfast. Gunter had been rather pleased by the efforts he had put into his studies and had relented on their lessons for the day, giving him some freedom for the first time in over a week.

A whole day to enjoy.

Hurrying down the corridor, he was going out through the kitchens, picking up several warm pastries and a bottle of the fruit cider he had seen them stock up on several days before. Holding a finger to his lips, he gave the maids a wide grin and slipped out the door with his spoils.

Moving swiftly around the edge of the building, he waved at several guards as he slipped past, each of them extremely amused by the fact their king looked positively mischievous. Moving around and into the training courtyard, he was sticking to the walkway that surrounded it, just appreciating the elegance of his husband as he trained with the soldiers.

Pausing to watch as Conrart finally finished what he was doing and his sword was sheathed back at his belt, Yuuri withdrew the baseball from the satchel and pitched it at the man. The soldier was positively startled when something came flying unexpectedly at him but his hands instantly curled around the ball the moment it came close enough.

Conrart stood there motionless for a minute, gazing down at the familiar object in his hand and just blinked at it in incomprehension, until his head lifted to stare right into Yuuri's face. His mouth opened for a moment, before gaze dropping back down to the ball in his hands and lightly touched it with his fingers.

"I found out your secret, Lord Conrart Weller." Yuuri practically grinned at him, completely unrepentant for startling the man.

"Yuuri... I..."

"I have the whole day free." His duties for the day had been attended to and now he wanted nothing more than to do something that would hopefully bring a smile to Conrart's face. "I have a few ideas what we can do with it."

"My... duties..." Conrart glanced around him at the soldiers and then back at Yuuri, hopeful but a touch uncertain at the sudden surprise.

"I've already arranged for your schedule to be covered today by a few different people who owe me a favour or two."

"Is that why you were gone so early this morning?" Moving across the space between them, his hand reached out to lightly touch against Yuuri's cheek, fingertips sliding across smooth skin. "I..."

Yuuri had a sudden flash of understanding. He had not given explanations for his absence either from their bed ridiculously early or for the other morning activities they always did together and it had worried Conrart. Even Conrart could feel uncertain about things at times. "I didn't want to fall behind on the work that I needed to do today. I finished all the reports and looking over the documents for Gwendal and Gunter so that they wouldn't be affected by my day off. I think _both_ of them need a holiday. It took longer than I had hoped and well... I wanted to surprise you."

Conrart's smile started off small, but it grew, his expression softening as he gazed down into Yuuri's face and felt his heart instantly warm at the earnestness of his husband's expression. His tenderly ran his fingers along his lover's scalp and cupped the back of his head, burning him forwards and into a burning hot kiss that scorched away any doubts that resided in either of them just how much a day together appealed to Conrart.

"You did surprise me." He breathed out, their mouths brushing together again. "I missed my... Yuuri fix."

"Are you grumpy in the mornings without me?"

"Definitely." All the tension that had been inside of Conrart slipped out of him quickly, his arms curling around the man, tucking Yuuri against him. "I'm positively morose."

"Well no more frowns then, you have no excuse." He teased, nuzzling the underside of his jaw and nipping lightly at his chin before tipping his head back towards the castle. "Let's change and get out of here for a while."

* * *

><p><strong>The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Yuuri grinned as he tossed the ball towards Conrart who walked a few steps away from him, Conrart catching it easily as they moved along the surprisingly quiet street. Both of them knew of Yozak's presence, the man trailing them like a ghost as added protection for Yuuri while he was outside of the castle walls. They had seen several patrols moving throughout the streets as well, but the fuss around him was kept at a minimum.

Conrart moved before him, back to the street as he gained a bit of distance before pitching the ball towards Yuuri, the King dodged to the right to be able to catch it. The baseball slapped into his glove as he easily proved he still had some ability even after several years no playing. A slight embarrassed flush ran across Conrart's cheeks. "Sorry!" His fingers brushed back through his hair, brushing the wild mass of strands from his eyes, the man looking positively gorgeous with his hair mused around a flushed face.

"You have a great throwing arm, Conrart." Yuuri smiled at him, plucking the ball out of his gloved left hand. "You just need more practice."

"You really mean it?" The man asked, dropping his hand and cinnamon eyes gazed into his lover's.

"Yes. We can certainly practice if you like." Throwing it back to Conrart, he couldn't help but feel an odd clenching in his chest at being able to share something more with Conrart. His lover's excitement over Yuuri's offer of playing catch had been heart-warming and he had rediscovered his own enthusiasm for the sport. "I wouldn't mind a game of catch every so often. Just... you and me."

"I'd like that."

"And just between us, I can catch anything you can throw."

"Seriously?" The soldier couldn't help but grin back, his heart light and eased from the worry of the morning. It had concerned him the change in their regular daily patterns and it had worried him that he had done something to upset his beloved, though he had not been able to think what. He prized every moment they spent together.

Suddenly their game was interrupted when the both heard sharp angry voices from down the street. Conrart and Yuuri both quickly putting away the baseball mitts and ball into the satchel that contained the half finished bottle of fruit cider that they had shared over a late morning meal.

Yuuri's eyes narrowed sharply at the sight of two men crowding a woman against one of the walls of the shops that ran along part of the street, their voices and mannerisms suggesting that they were definitely not about to leave her be. His jaw clenched and he was already reached down to touch the hilt of his sword taking two strides forwards, quite intent on doing something about it when he felt a hand against his shoulder, stopping him.

Conrart offered Yuuri a small smile, dipping his head and pressing a tender kiss to Yuuri's temple. "Let me do this."

"Stop it, please!"

"Be quiet. If you want us to leave you alone give it to us."

The half-breed approached the two men and woman, his expression darkening slightly at the fact that they were clearly harassing her like they had both suspected. "What is going on here?" His body practically hummed with silent energy, knowing that Yuuri was watching him, feeling a little pride that he could do this for him.

"Stay out of our way, or you'll regret it." The shorter of the two rasped, his wiry red hair sticking up from his head in wild spiked that actually made the grubby man look like he had been struck repeatedly by lightning.

Withdrawing his sword, he moved with several lightning fast strokes, before easily slipping it back into its sheath at his side and winked at Yuuri.

Suddenly the belts the men wore unravelled as the leather sprang apart after being sliced so neatly. Their pants dropped instantly to the ground around their ankles and the horror on the two bandit's faces was priceless as they stared down at their now uncovered legs and what appeared to be boxer shorts.

Yuuri had to stop himself from laughing and clapping at the skilled display. Eyes sparkling with amusement, he turned his head slightly to glance behind him at Yozak who had dropped from where he had perched on a nearby roof and grinned at him with a short nod of greeting.

Both humans were hurrying away, both hands clamped around tops of their pants as one of them yelled back. "You'll pay for this!"

"That was brilliant!" Yuuri was instantly at Conrart's side, practically beaming up at the man, leaning against his side and managing to keep in his laughter. Though his amusement died quickly as his gaze turned towards the girl, his concern coming to the fore. "Are you alright, Miss?"

* * *

><p>"Oh, I wish I had something to offer you for rescuing me." The teal eyed young woman gazed across the bench top at him, her expression grateful as she looked over the two men before her and the third sitting in the corner watching them all with a half indulgent smile.<p>

"Please don't put yourselves out for our sake." Yuuri's hands curled around the mug of tea, letting out a soft contented sound as the warmth of it spread across his palms and up his arms, before he drew it to his lips and drank a little. Smiling, he shuffled his chair just that inch closer to Conrart's, their shoulders touching affectionately and the half-breed looked a touch pleased with himself. It made Yuuri smile.

One of Conrart's hands had dropped beneath the edge of the bench and slipped along to rest against Yuuri's thigh, brushing down from hip to knee lightly. The man indulging a little in his own steaming mug of tea.

"Forgive me for not introducing ourselves." Yuuri smiled brightly at the girl, definitely not minding the hand that had settled rather possessively against his lower thigh. "My name is Yuuri and this is Con." A fingertip lightly stroked against one of Conrart's cheeks affectionately. "My husband."

He could hear the sudden and almost explosive release of tea from Yozak's mouth as the man behind them sat bolt upright and stared in shock at the pair of them.

"And that gentleman back their is our friend Yozak." Tipping his head back slightly, he gazed over his shoulder at Yozak, grinning at the man unrepentantly as blue eyes stared at him in utter astonishment.

"My name is Rose." The dark haired woman said softly, her gaze flickering from Yozak a touch worriedly before drifting back towards her brother and father. "That's my father and my little brother, Risotto."

"A pleasure to meet you all." Yuuri's grin turned back into a gentle smile and watched them all with interest. "By the way, I was surprised to find such a lovely shop closed."

"I have been having problems with my health, you see, for this reason the shop has been closed for half a year." His brown eyes filled with regret and guilt that seemed to such all the strength out of him. "My daughter has been working to support our family, but she is still just a child and can't work that much." The older man's pain was obvious as he covered his face with one hand, trembling with the weight of all the things that were pulling him down. "I bring you nothing but hardship. I'm so sorry."

Yuuri's chair had skittered back as he rose, coming around the edge of the bar and was standing beside the man, the concern evident on his face as his hand reached out to lightly touch his upper arm. He could actually feel the sickness inside of him, it was slowly being fought off but it was still eating up the man's strength. "Come." Gently drawing the man back around to one of the chairs by a table, he allowed healing magic to spark across his palm, letting it spill into the man's weakened body. "Rest yourself."

"Father, please don't blame yourself, it's really not your fault!"

"She's right." The King assured the man, feeling a deep aching compassion fill his heart for this family and he saw the same look in Conrart's eyes, both of them unable to bear the suffering of these good people. "It is no one's fault." Though he paused, his head tipping to the side as he regarded Rose once more.

"May I ask, Miss Rose, who were those men who accosted you?" Conrart distracted the girl, sensing that Yuuri wanted a few moments to try and do something for the gentleman. It always warmed his heart to see Yuuri's deep compassion for any and all who were in need, that was his Yuuri, the loving soul who protected everyone.

"It all began when I wanted to start a new line of business for us and I found something on the street." Her teal eyes darkened a touch, lips pressing together at the corners. "Father said that it was a very useful thing to have found. I was happy and I thought that if I used it I would be able to work and look after Father at the same time. But then those men showed up and I didn't know what to do. I swear I'm not a thief, I didn't take it. I told the two men that I would return it to them if they could prove it was theirs. Then they tried to take it by force."

"What is it that you found, Rose?" Yuuri asked softly, finally stepping away from the man, glancing down and looked pleased that a little colour had slowly begun to return to his pale cheeks.

"It's very useful. It can repair any broken magical devices and can fully replenish magical powers." She carefully withdrew something from a pocket, a small leather pouch was carefully opened and a pentagonal shaped red stone spilled out into her palm.

Yozak abruptly stood at the sight of it, clearly just about to say something, his eyes darkening with accusations.

Before Yozak could say anything, Yuuri levelled a look at the man, shaking his head ever so slightly and gesturing with one hand that they would discuss the matter privately. The King had a feeling Yozak's reaction was to do with the Demon Stone currently sitting before the young Rose, but he lacked information about what had so disturbed the other man and it would not be good to distress this family more for no reason.

"If you would excuse us for a moment, Miss Rose, I fear I have dropped something outside in all the excitement... I will be back in a moment." Yuuri offered them a warm smile, before he was stepping outside, Yozak and Conrart following him as they stepped out into warm sunshine and away from the door.

Yuuri turned his attention to Yozak, both brows raised in question. "What is it, Yozak? What has disturbed you?"

"That stone is the missing one from the convoy carrying it to the Castle last night. It fits the description." The amber haired man shifted and glanced back towards the doorway. "The convoy was attacked by bandits in the streets of the city, Gwendal and the guards are searching for it now. He did not wish for you to be concerned about it on your... day off."

Sighing softly, the King pressed his lips together, knowing that Gwendal was being quite considerate in handling the situation like that for them while they relaxed. "I would have rather been informed about such a matter, but I do appreciate Gwendal's kindness."

"Tell us everything you know about the theft." Conrart requested as he came to stand behind Yuuri and lightly wrapped one arm around the man's waist from behind, drawing him back against his body.

Yozak quickly did just that, giving them a few more important details. _However_...

"Married?" Yozak couldn't help but ask. "I mean... the wedding is not for a few more months... but..."

"Actually." Yuuri gave the man a slight smile, his expression softening as he stared up into Conrart's face and covered his husband's left hand with his own, their fingers laced together, the two rings glittering in the warm noon sunshine. "We are married legally. Only Wolfram and Gwendal are aware of it. "

The half-demon looked shocked, his mouth opening and closing as he gazed at Conrart, a few emotions flickering through the blue irises. A silent pain that was never given voice to. "_When_...?" It was barely above a whisper, the man's earlier agitation over the Demon Stone vanishing at the knowledge that Yuuri hadn't just been teasing earlier when he had told Rose they were married.

"The night of the Fire Festival in Van." Conrart responded, drawing Yuuri's hand upwards and turning their joined hands so that he could press a warm kiss against Yuuri's fingertips lovingly, wanting nothing more than to make his lover smile. "We pledged ourselves in the human custom of the Island." It was something precious to him, the memory of that night, their dance and hearing Yuuri speak to him like he had.

"Why... didn't you tell me?" Yozak asked Conrart, intense blue meeting silver flecked cinnamon.

"It was a private matter." One that they had shared, a knowledge that their marriage was something both had wanted, something that had come from love not necessity or through an accident.

"Conrart..." The half-breed spy swallowed hard and glanced away. No matter what he did, he could not shake the fact that he loved Conrart Weller and had for quite some time. It killed him inside to see the man so enraptured by the King, but he could not feel too much anger towards Yuuri, the man had it difficult for him to even dislike him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Yozak. It was just..." Shaking his head, he dipped his head to let his cheek rest against the top of Yuuri's, cradling the man against him. He remembered the soft fingers that had stroked through his hair, the warmth of this man during those long hours after their pledging where he had spilled so many things out from where they had been trapped in his heart. Not even Yozak had known some of those thoughts, not even his closest friend had been able to shatter the wall that had been erected around his mind and heart.

"The Demon Stone... I don't quite know what we are going to do about that."

"We are going to take it back..."

"No." Yuuri's lips pressed together as he shook his head sharply just once, his expression a touch troubled but knowing that such an action would deeply affect this already troubled family. "We do not know conclusively that it _is_ the stone that was stole." No matter how rare the item, there was always a possibility that it was not the one that Gwendal's forces were looking for. "Yozak, can you please look into finding us an accurate description or image of what the Demon Stone that was being transported looked like?"

"Yes, Sire." Yozak responded, though his eyes remained fixed on Conrart's face for a long moment before he bowed his head and practically evaporated into thin air.

"Hey, you there!" The red haired bandit from before reappeared no more than twenty yards away with eight other shabbily dressed men carrying swords, clubs and wooden staffs crowding in behind him attempting to look formidable. "You will pay for interfering!"

And suddenly they were charging towards Conrart and Yuuri, their weapons raised ready to strike out, their mouths open as they gave a challenging cry.

A hand touched lightly against where Conrart's own was on the hilt of his sword. Yuuri giving him a small grin of affection. "Let me."

Yuuri's sword cleared its sheath and he was moving forwards to meet them, his entire body practically humming with anticipation, Conrart watching on with an indulgent look. He knew well that these bandits were barely a threat to someone that could almost match Conrart in skill when it came to the use of a sword. His blade slashed through fabric and leather, body spinning in the practiced moves that his husband had been teaching him over the last few weeks. There was just something about true combat that made every part of his body sing with anticipation and excitement, though he only fought to incapacitate rather than kill. However, he was willing to kill if it meant defending what was precious to him.

It was over within a few moments, Yuuri standing before the bandits, sliding his blade back into its sheath, pausing for only a second to glance back over his shoulder. A second later, the bandits' clothing practically disintegrated right there on their bodies. Tiny scraps of fabric fluttered down to the ground, covering it and leaving the nine men only clothed in their boxers.

All of them stared down at themselves in horror. Their weapons also reduced to useless chips of wood.

"You'll pay for this!" One of them shouted as they retreated as quickly as the first two had.

"Magnificent." Conrart praised Yuuri, his smile growing when he saw the flush of pleasure spreading across his King's face. "You were magnificent, Love."

Suddenly several doors opened along the street and abruptly the previously empty street was practically buzzing with a lot of people, all of them either hovering around Yuuri or Conrart. It was as if someone had flipped a switch and the once silent city was finally coming back to life after the defeat of the bandit group which had plagued and threatened so many in this one area.

"Oh, my." Rose stood by the doorway, eyes wide as she stared at Conrart and Yuuri, joy spreading across her face the moment she realised that they just might be able to find a lot of customers in the flocks of people that were milling around the street.

* * *

><p>"Its heavenly." Yuuri practically groaned as the hot water bubbled up along his bare legs and body, his eyes closing as he rested his chin against his arms on the rim, practically melting right at that moment at the sensation. His pleasure filled gaze dropped down onto the top of Conrart's head as the man tended to the fire.<p>

One hand reached out and caressed the long strands that were really beginning to set off the man's features, some actually curling over the back of his collar. Conrart's face tipped upwards, nuzzling his cheek into that damp palm and pressing a kiss against Yuuri's wrist. It was clear he enjoyed the private moment as much as Yuuri did. While there were guards in the neighbouring streets that would react in moments to any threat posed to the King, the royal pair were grateful to share some time alone again.

"I love your hair like this..." He admitted softly, his other hand stretching out to join the first, feathering through the long chocolate brown locks, gathering the strands between both of his palms and smoothing them down. "So wild..."

Conrart rested on his knees like that, remaining perfectly still and just soaking up the affection and touches like a sponge, treasuring the intimacy that they shared. "I won't cut it if you prefer."

"I would like that." Yuuri's own was slowly growing out too, though his had a tendency to curl slightly into waves down around his neck and shoulders. "It suits you... like a lion's mane, untamed and..." He couldn't help the smile that tugged on his lips, a few thoughts crossing his mind right at that moment. "Fiery."

A low rumbling purr escaped Conrart, the sparks of silver in his eyes shimmering across the irises as he nuzzled the hands that stroked over his head and face, brushing against the backs of his shoulders. There was just something about those warm touches that brought the sound out from deep inside of him. "Do you know what I would like to do to you?" He growled hotly, staring into Yuuri's eyes.

"I have a few ideas." He breathed out, squirming at the scorching heat of that one long gaze, his body clenching in response to the quick nip at the tip of one finger. "Some very interesting ideas..."

"So do I." Conrart chuckled softly, heat filling his features as his body lifted just enough as Yuuri leaned over the edge of the drum bath for their mouths to meet in a burning hot kiss that left both of them desperate for more. "But not here." Nibbling on Yuuri's lower lip, he stood and draw his lover's cheek to his, rubbing them lightly together as he nipped at the King's earlobe. "When we get home, I'm sure a larger bath might work a little better for what I had in mind."

"I like the sound of that."

* * *

><p>"Thank you for everything you did today." Rose said with an honest smile, her gaze sliding over the two men who had assisted in bringing in customers and attention to the shop and also making sure that no trouble occurred within when the Demon Stone was being used. They had asked for nothing but the use of the bath in return, something that was no trouble at all for them.<p>

"Make sure to lock up safely and please don't go outside after dark." Conrart added with a smile of his own, his hand curled around one of Yuuri's, admitting privately to himself he had rather enjoyed the day they had shared together.

"Yes, Sir." The old man nodded once, head bowed in respect.

"We'll come back in the morning to check on everything." And hopefully by then they would have an answer to the question they had about the Demon Stone. Yozak would probably have found the information they wanted by the time they returned to the castle.

"Thank you."

"Please keep an eye on them!" Yuuri tipped his head back to gaze up at the member of the Flying Bone Tribe who hovered in the air above the rooftops, keeping watch over this particular home. "Rest well, all of you." The King leaned into Conrart's body, as he waved at the family, feeling warmth spread through him over the fact that he had been able to personally help out several people of his Kingdom. It made him feel he truly was doing things for the common citizens, that he was still in touch with their needs and hopes.

"Goodbye!"

They walked together down the darkened street, hearing the sound of the door shutting behind them and the lock turning in it. Soon they were passing through one of the arches that stretched over the main avenue and they noted the guards standing on either side of it.

"Have several of the guards patrol this area..." Yuuri said to the first guard that they came across, the man straightening the moment he was addressed. "I want to make certain that the bandits do not return to the city."

"As you command, Majesty." The first of the pair of guards bowed his head and moved off towards where several other guards had been stationed throughout the city due to the fact that the Demon Stone might still be missing and bandits were running rampant through parts of the city, daring to attack convoys.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom <strong>

Yuuri was laughing at Conrart's story, the pair rather animated as they moved through the dark grounds of the castle. "You cannot be serious..."

"I am. Truthfully that is what happened. He was bright fluorescent pink for two weeks, I think Anissina put too much of something into it."

"Wool dying machine..." Shaking his head, Yuuri could actually imagine a bright pink Gwendal, hair some shade of magenta and face a luminous candy floss pink. "Gwendal..."

"He locked himself practically in his office for that whole fortnight."

Yuuri was attempting to smother another round of giggles, his obsidian eyes bright with amusement when his brows drew together as he realised two guards were standing on either side of a rather familiar gentleman. His hand lightly touched Conrart's arm, stopping his husband before they turned a corner and tipped his head towards the man, worry filling his expression.

"Sir!" The man looked relieved to see the familiar faces of Yuuri and Conrart in the darkness, the gloom also hiding the colour of Yuuri's hair. "Risotto has been kidnapped!" His hands were curled before him, wringing together, the agitation and deep concern on his features showing the seriousness of the situation.

"What!" Yuuri was hurrying forwards, deep concern etched on his face, remembering the cheerful young boy who had been nice enough to show them where the bath was earlier that day. "How?" The guards should have prevented something like that.

"The moment I went to take out the trash they snatched him from the doorway. They left a note... my daughter took the Demon Stone and when alone to the place described in it." His brown eyes were filled with guilt and apprehension, the man seemed to have aged twenty years with the weight of his own emotions. "The Flying Bone Tribe that you so kindly left behind for us, Yuuri, followed after her immediately, but..."

The winged skeleton was perched on the roof, looking ashamed of itself.

"You lost sight of her?"

Its head actually flopped off from its neck and crumbled to the ground in disgrace.

"The way things turned out, I had no choice, so I followed where he led. He led me here to Covenant Castle... Tell me please who are you?"

"Someone who will make this right." The King was already calling to several of the guards who were hurrying forwards, Samuel amongst them.

"Sire?" Samuel bowed his head once in respect, before standing before Yuuri, worry creasing his features.

"Assemble several search parties. There are two children missing in the city and I fear that they have the bandits after them. Inform Adalbert and Gwendal of this immediately. Myself and Lord Weller will be assisting in the search."

The man practically gaped at them both when a torch was brought forwards, illuminating Yuuri Shibuya Weller in its glow, the dark obsidian eyes and raven hair clearly illuminated. "Your... Majesty... I..."

"We will find Rose and Risotto." Yuuri reassured him, a hand reaching out to lightly touch the man's shoulder, squeezing it just once. "Your children will be returned to you, Béchamel. You have my word. Describe your children to the search parties." They were moving away from the man, Yuuri caught one of the running soldiers by the arm. "Please inform Gisela that her services are needed to tend to the children's father, his health is fragile and I fear for him."

"At once, Sire." The soldier saluted.

* * *

><p><strong>The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Yuuri, Conrart and a half dozen soldiers crouched at the edge of the field, examining the events that were unfolding before them under the light of a brilliant three quarter moon that illuminated the trees and the bandits beneath one, the boy amongst their number. They had already sent a soldier to alert the other search parties of this discovery, but there was no time to waste waiting, it was clear from the look of the bandits they were not about to let either of the children live.

Rose was slowly moving towards where the bandits waited, her fingers clutched around the small bag that held the Demon Stone, her body was trembling slightly with fear, but she was clearly determined to go through with it.

"Please help me!" Risotto's plea slashed deeply into the hearts of every single man crouched low in the bushes.

Yuuri lifted his head upwards and gestured towards the boy with one hand, the Flying Bone Tribesman already leaving his perch and taking to the air at the command.

Suddenly every head turned on that field as the 'bony' swept down out of the sky, gaining momentum as it dove, arms outstretched and snatched up Risotto in its arms from where the boy had been trapped by one of the larger bandits. The force of its passage knocked back to of the men, slamming them to the earth, while it continued forwards, arms shifting to hold the boy to its chest.

"The kid!" One of them shouted, staring up in amazement at the sight.

Risotto's arms were waving in surprise and enjoyment, calling out to Rose, his face alive with delight at the entire experience.

"Risotto!" Rose cried in relief, staring upwards, her fingers clenching a little more tightly around the Stone pressed against her chest.

"Idiots! Forget the kid!" The bearded leader of the bandits called to the others, his gaze immediately turning towards where Rose stood half way between the King's hidden position and the brigands. "He's not important, hurry up and get the Demon Stone from the girl!" One hand gestured sharply towards her, the others abruptly changing their focus.

"Enough!" Yuuri roared from where he stood, his expression darkening as he gazed at the bandits. "Stop this at once."

"Never mind them, boys! Take 'em down!"

The bandits rushed forwards, the guards that had come with the King charged forwards to meet them with spears in hand, not about to be phased by the challenge presented to them. The ragtag outlaws were already beginning to retreat a little, their faces filled with a moment of realisation that they were not facing an enemy that they could win against.

"I have the Demon Stone! Retreat!" The leader of the bandits had taken the momentary distraction of the soldiers' arrival to charge Rose, snatching the stone forcefully from her hands and sending her tumbling to the earth.

Yuuri and Conrart were already charging after the rotund man, their boots sounding on the cobblestones as they followed. Hearing the exclamation of the men who thought that they would win this.

Yozak suddenly appeared out of the darkness, his booted foot connecting with the outlaw's leg and sending him staggering forwards, the Demon Stone flying from between his fingers and arched high into the air.

The King put on a burst of speed, one hand out and snatched the stone from the air. "Good job, Yozak!" The dark haired man called back over his shoulder. However, two men were blocking his path and he withdrew his sword, his head lifting at the sound of his name, surprised to find Yozak on the roof above, but flung the stone to the man as he charged the two that had challenged him, bring them down with the brilliant flash of his blade.

The spy nimbly crossed the rooftops, easily keeping his balance on the slanted sides and the long thin straight peak at the top. Yozak suddenly jerked to one side, almost losing his balance as arrows actually rained down on him, imbedding themselves deep into the wood and slate roof tiles. His eyes making out the three men in the dark standing on a nearby tower launching arrow after arrow at him from their quivers. Several hissed passed his body, unbalancing him and sending him slamming down hard against the roof, the stone rolling out from between his fingers and off the side of the building.

However, before it could crash into the cobbles several storeys below, Conrart caught it. Head tipped up and he grinned at his friend. "Getting sloppy there Yozak."

Suddenly there was a piercing scream that made every head turn towards the tower where the archers were located. From one of the upper windows of the tower, the Flying Bone Tribesman hung within a coil of netting supported by three men, Risotto gripping several strands of the underside of it, dangling high off the ground. It was the boy, screaming for help, his fingers slowly beginning to slip free, his brown eyes wide with panic as he gazed downwards.

Several sets of pounding footsteps were heading towards Conrart.

"There! He's got it!"

"Help me please!" Risotto cried out, his body dangling from a height that would surely kill him if he fell. "I'm going to fall!"

"Conrart!" Yuuri stood atop the tower, his dark eyes gazing down at his beloved.

"Love!" Conrart stared upwards in something that was a mix of horror and surprise at the sight of his lover somehow on top of the tower. "Throw it here!"

"But...!"

"Have you forgotten? I trust in you, Love! I believe in you! I can catch anything that you throw!"

Conrart didn't hesitate at that, instantly pitching it upwards with as much strength as he could muster. The moment the stone left his hands, he was darting forwards to catch the falling Risotto in his arms, just as Yuuri once more caught his pitch with a practiced ease.

"Love." Yuuri breathed as he gazed down at Conrart, whom clutched the boy protectively against him. However, his momentary joy faded the moment several of the thugs surrounded not only Conrart and Risotto, but Yozak as well.

"Playtime is over!" The bearded brigand snarled, his arm curled tightly around Rose's throat, a short blade pressed against it. "Give me the Demon Stone, now!"

Rose bit the arm near her face, teeth sinking down through fabric and skin, making the man wrench away and send her tumbling to the rooftop where he had taken her with several of his men, adjacent to the tower. The brigand growled out several words. "I'll kill you for that you little brat!"

A roar of white hot anger escaped the Demon King, his fingers clutched tightly around the Stone that burned against his palm in response to the power that burned upwards through his arms. The mistake that the bandits had made was the fact that they had drawn weapons not only against the girl but against Conrart who was holding Risotto tightly. Obsidian eyes burned with fury, his control close to snapping as surges of energy flared up along from his hand, the Stone almost searing him. "_You dare to threaten that which I protect?_"

The night exploded with a bright burst of power, Yuuri moving forwards, his dark hair flying around his face as wind swirled about his body. He stepped off the tower's edge as Conrart screamed his name, but instead of falling he hovered there, suspended within a bubble of his own power. Descending, his boots touched down lightly, while arrows hit the shimmering water barrier that swirled around him, splintering the projectiles that clattered harmlessly to the wood and stone.

"_You enter my home and think to harm those around you for your own greed and petty ambitions?_" The air around Yuuri was slowly beginning to crackle with banked lightning, the flickering sparks leaping from his flesh where the Stone was held in a white-knuckled grip. "_You will regret your actions and pay for your crimes._" Yuuri stood toe to toe with the lead brigand whom was actually quaking in terror as he stared into the dark void of the Maou's eyes. "_Never think of harming what is mine._"

And bright white lightning exploded from Yuuri, smashing into the bandits both on the ground and on the roof with enough force to knocking them down and pinning them into place, their faces filling with raw terror at the sheer power the King commanded. Each man found themselves within the coils of light serpents that snapped and crackled, their mouths full with death if the men so much as twitched.

"Yuuri!"

The King reached out towards the man who was running towards him, the soldier not even once pausing as sparks of trapped lightning flared around the King. His arms wrapped around the King, just as he began to crumple, one hand twisting the Demon Stone out of Yuuri's grip, flinging it away to skitter across the roof to rest at Rose's feet. A shimmering mist of water droplets suddenly dropped from midair, the shield that had been protecting the King dissolving as quickly as the lightning had the moment the stone had been drawn free from Yuuri's hand.

This time, obsidian eyes didn't close completely, the King remaining semi-conscious as Conrart gathered him in close as he dropped to one knee. It was an improvement over the last few times, Yuuri had used his magic, displaying the fact that the King was rapidly progressing in both control and his recovery time. It was quite apparent as well that objects of potent magic had a powerful affect on Yuuri's magic when it manifested itself.

"I have you." Conrart whispered softly, hearing the sound of boots on the stairs he had just scaled as both Adalbert and Gwendal exploded upwards onto the roof to find a dozen trembling bandits, a girl and the royal pair. "Easy now, I'm unharmed."

"So tired." The dark haired King whispered against Conrart's throat as his head dropped forwards into the cradle of his shoulder, arms and legs coiled around Conrart's body. A little sound escaped him as he was easily lifted upwards, Conrart's arms easily supporting him. "...Prince..."

"Sleep, Love. You've stopped them all." Conrart's eyes lifted from Yuuri's face to Rose's. "Are you unharmed?"

"Um... Well..." She stared at them with open shock. "Is he...?"

"Yes?"

"Is he really... really the Demon King?"

"Yes, he is." Conrart smiled, his lips touching against the top of his lover's head. "Amazing, isn't he?"

"I'm glad you... think so." Yuuri murmured, tightening his grip around Conrart's shoulders just a little.

Making Conrart laugh softly in response as they were soon being joined by the others and the bandits were being hauled away by a flood of guards.

* * *

><p><strong>YAAY! Hehe Nowwwwwwwww Lady Cecilie, Raven and Stoffel... OH MY! LOOOL Maybe even Keiji and Ryan! <strong>


	17. Part 17: Where Lurk Monsters

**Author's Note: This chapter addresses what occurred in earlier chapters to do with Stoffel's ambitions. I really wanted him for once to truly understand exactly what he had done. Hopefully we can save the old codger. Please enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but some plots that float around in here.**

* * *

><p><strong>Spitzweg Castle, Spitzweg Lands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Yuuri lightly brushed a long strand of wild chocolate hair out of Conrart's eyes as he beamed up at his husband, leaning against him as he took in the decorations that covered practically every square inch of the courtyard. Gwendal, Wolfram and Gunter glanced away from the pair, Wolfram flushing slightly and Gwendal looking almost amused by the display of affection .

"I am just glad no one decided to present me with a statue or something." A shiver ran through Yuuri at the mere thought of that, his head shaking a little in amusement.

Conrart however was distracted as he reached down to pick up the two pieces of paper that sat on a nearby table, lifting them up and both eyebrows lifted in surprise. "A special invitation to the reconstruction ceremony of both the Castle and the surrounding towns... and an invite to Mother and Raven's wedding ceremony."

"Oh please!" Wolfram huffed out, crossing his arms and sending a glance over his shoulder at both Gwendal and Conrart. "I have it with all this. I have enough trouble with the siblings I already have..."

"This reeks of an evil plot."

"Okay... no more ominous statements from you, Gunter. " Yuuri sighed, glancing around at the Castle grounds again and shifting ever so slightly back against Conrart. This place made him uneasy, the memories of the poisoning still something he couldn't quite shake. The feeling of utter helplessness was not something he was ever likely to forget. "This place is..." Sighing, he shook his head.

"The question is, is Mother aware of the change of power within the Castle or..."

"Your Majesty!"

Yuuri blinked at the rather enthusiastic greeting, her bright green eyes focused on the King as she moved forwards. "Lady Cecilie." The King greeted her with a warm smile, not quite knowing what to say right at that moment as she practically pulled him down into a tight hug before her eyes flickered to the faces of her sons, drifting from Wolfram's to Gwendal's then... her gaze froze at the sight of Conrart.

"Oh, my." She released the King and he actually half staggered a step away at the sudden release as she stepped towards her middle son, green eyes widening as she took in the dashing figure of Conrart Weller in the fine black and silver uniform he had taken to wearing. His long hair framing his tanned face, the wild strands actually reaching his chin as it curve around against his cheek, the rest spilling over the back of his collar. "Conrart..."

"Hello, Mother." He welcomed her. Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss against her cheek before straightening. "You are looking exquisite today."

"Your... hair...?" Her hand reached up to lightly touch the length of it, staring into his cinnamon eyes and just felt her mouth attempting to open, but no sound came out. "You... look like your father..."

"I..." Conrart blinked at that. "Yuuri likes my hair this way."

"It looks good on you." Her green eyes softened, before brushing her fingers against his cheek softly. "I am so happy to see that you are here for my remarriage, it is especially good to see you, Majesty."

And all Yuuri could do was smile in response, not quite certain whether Cecilie knew about the fact that her brother had been literally stripped of his rank and Raven now stood in his stead until the man could prove himself to be worthy of the title he had once held.

However, his gaze flickered towards the man whom stood off to one side behind Cecilie, his clothing simple and neat. His eyes widening as it took him several moments to recognise Stoffel Von Spitzweg. The man was clean-shaven, his hair longer than it had been, his skin tanned from working outdoors. The blue eyes that meet Yuuri's were not however the ones that had once belonged to the man who had almost killed him several months before in the botched attempt at kidnapping him.

"Your Majesty." Stoffel greeted when he stepped forwards, though he stayed well back, bowing his head in respect but knowing quite well the moment he got any closer he would find himself at the end of Conrart's sword. "I am very pleased to have you join us here."

Cecilie's brows lifted in something approaching shock as she turned back towards her brother, her mouth opening to say something, but closed it once more at the quiet tone. There was no wheedling note beneath it, nothing but genuine welcome. Stoffel looked and sounded far more like their father than he ever had before, the voice surprising them all.

"I was glad to receive the message from you."

"Why don't you come in and join us for a meal? You must all be quite worn out from the journey."

"A meal would be good right about now." Yuuri admitted.

"This way then."

* * *

><p>The silence was almost deafening, except for the click of utensils against one another and the fine white china the meal had been served on.<p>

Everyone was eating without a word been spoken between them, however it was clear to Conrart Weller that despite Yuuri's earlier words about being hungry, not a morsel of food on his plate or a drop of wine had gone anywhere near his husband's mouth. It had only ended up slowly circling around his plate, becoming less like food and more like mush. It was clear that Yuuri would more than likely never trust any food that was served to him at Spitzweg Castle, considering the last time he had seen it... it would have surely killed him.

The King was pallid, his eyes staring down at the plate, however thankfully no one commented about the fact, or at least everyone was more focused on the head of the table then on their King.

"Here you are, Raven." Cecilie lifted her spork upwards, the mashed potato piled high on it as she shifted to turn in her chair towards the man beside her. She quite literally leaned into Raven, whom looked as if he had been practically cornered into this, her expression sultry and teasing. "Say 'ah'."

"That's alright, I can do it myself." Raven responded, his glacial blue eyes closing for a long moment while he released a soft breath.

"You're so shy! That's so adorable." Fawning over the man, Cecilie's free hand had slipped down to lightly touch against his knee, allowing her to lean even more into him. "Oh, yes. This is probably your first time meeting him." The former Queen had turned towards Yuuri who sat on her right, offering him a warm smile. "This is Raven."

"I have met Raven before, Lady Cecilie. We are friends." His obsidian eyes met those of the dark haired man on the other side of Cecilie, offering him a small smile of greeting, though his expression said that if Raven did not wish for this marriage he would intervene on his behalf. Raven had saved his life more than likely and he respected the man for standing up for his choices.

"Oh, my. Did you truly become friends while I was gone?" Green orbs widened in surprise, her expression curious, though her eyes dropped to the plate before Yuuri and frowned slightly. "Is the food not to your liking, Majesty?"

"I... I find myself not as hungry as I thought because of the journey." Yuuri travelled quite well, he had spent enough time on the journey around Svelera to become extremely comfortable on the back of a horse for long periods of time. "I am certain it's all quite good."

Gwendal had turned in his seat ever so slightly to Conrart, his lips forming a sharp line. "It appears as if she has no knowledge of what has transpired here since last she was home." His words were barely audible, only meant for his brother's ears.

"Right." He responded softly, worry touching his features as he glanced back towards Yuuri's plate. They all except for Lady Cecilie knew why Yuuri Shibuya Weller _wasn't_ eating.

"Excuse me a moment." The beautiful blonde rose from her chair, offering them all a smile before heading towards the balcony.

Raven was up a moment later, concern etched on his features. "Lady Celi." He was following her out without a backwards glance.

* * *

><p>Lady Cecilie stood on the balcony, her elbows resting against the cool stone as she looked out over the gardens that were so familiar to her, the scents of them drifting up to her nose as she inhaled the fresh evening air. How long had it been since she had last been home? Months... maybe more. The place felt different, so many things had changed and the few hours she had spent in her home had made her wonder exactly what it was that had changed besides her brother.<p>

She became aware of him behind her, a warm steady presence which eased the pain in her heart, helped to draw away the aching loneliness that had invaded her soul. "The wind feels so good."

"Lady Celi." Raven stepped through the doorway and out onto the balcony, his eyes the only thing that hinted at his deep concern for the woman before him. His heart ached with the love he had always felt for this woman. She had always been the centre of his world and he had always wanted nothing more than to be at her side.

Glancing back over one bare shoulder at him, her lips turned upwards into a slight smile. "Sweet Raven." She murmured softly, before turning around completely and wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning against his body, her face tipped upwards to gaze into his. "Can't you stand to be away from me for even a second?"

The answer was... he couldn't bear not being with her. "Are you serious about this?" He questioned her.

"About remarrying?" Releasing a quiet sigh, she didn't pull away but just leaned into his body, her cheek resting against his shoulder slightly. "I continued my quest for free love all this time, but I never seem to meet my destined one." The man who wouldn't leave her behind as Conrart's father had. She had loved him with all of her heart, but it had never been enough, seeing the love that her son and the King shared had touched something within her... and ache that just wouldn't go away. An ache... Raven seemed to fill whenever he was near. "I remembered you, Raven. The man... whose never left me behind."

Raven's heart stuttered in his chest at those words. Hesitantly one arm lifted, his hand lightly pressing against the silky softness of her hair, fingers curling into the fall of it, drawing her a little closer to him. "It is very sudden."

"Don't you find planned out romances are too boring, my Dearest One?"

"If this is what you want."

"I'm tired of being lonely, Raven." Her words were a soft flutter against his throat, when she buried her face against it, leaning into the man and feeling strong arms coil around her body, holding her protectively close to him. "Please... I don't want to be alone anymore."

Raven tightened his grip on her just a touch. His cheek resting against the top of her head and feeling his heart constrict at the true loneliness that sounded in her words. The promise he had made to her lay shattered on the grounds of that dry riverbed where he had almost died, his life spared only by the power of the King. He still had his duties to the Spitzweg lands... but... over the past few months... Stoffel had changed. Had it been enough? Enough that Raven could finally step back and follow Cecilie wherever she roamed?

"I want to be with you, Cecilie." He murmured against her hair, smoothing one hand down across the length of it. "I wish to be at your side..." Raven just didn't know if he would be granted the freedom to truly be allowed to follow her from the King, he was torn between duty and his love for Cecilie.

* * *

><p>"Love." Conrart knocked softly on the door to the rooms that they had been given, his expression softening when he saw Yuuri visibly jump where he sat on the edge of the bed, his head whipping around to stare at Conrart with a moment of fear. "I brought you something to eat." He lifted the bowl of stew that steamed and filled the room with a spicy scent of herbs, vegetables and salted meat.<p>

"I..." Visibly swallowing, the King stared at the walls around him, shaking his head slightly. "I don't think..."

"You need to eat."

"I..."

"Eat." The man came to kneel before the King, pressing the bowl into the man's hands with the spoon being placed in it. "I brought this up from the village myself." Conrart's expression immediately softened, his fingertips caressing over one of Yuuri's cheeks softly, thumb sliding across his lower lip. "You need to eat, even just a little. You're exhausted... and I can tell you're starving."

"It's so _stupid_." The half-breed croaked out, his obsidian eyes wide in his pale face, his fingers clenching around the bowl in his grip, knuckles going white with strain. "I know the food is safe. Everyone was eating it... but... I just... I can't." Trembling, he swallowed convulsively around the lump of fear that had wedged itself in his throat. "Not here." Yuuri's voice was a whisper, one filled with actual fear. "I don't want to be here, Conrart. I..."

The bowl was drawn from Yuuri's hands instantly and set aside on a nearby table, before he was being scooped up and cradled in strong arms, his body tucking itself up into the warmth of Conrart's frame. The younger man was truly beginning to tremble, face buried against his husband's neck, fingers fisting into his shirt.

"It's not stupid at all, Beloved." Conrart sank his fingers into the silky mass of his lover's hair, holding that face closer and rocking him slowly as he sat where Yuuri had been on the edge of their bed. "Your fears are understandable. Sweetheart... my Yuuri..." Hushing the man in his arms softly, he felt his heart ache at the soft sobs that escaped Yuuri, it shattered him inside to see his usually confident and smiling Yuuri reduced to this. If he could... he would tear the entire Castle down... he would destroy it so that Yuuri would never have to fear this place again.

Spitzweg Castle had been his home at several points in his life, he had fond memories of it... of friends and people here. However... it had become a prison to the one he loved most.

For a long time they sat like that, Yuuri curled into Conrart's arms, the trembling slowly beginning to pass as the warmth from Conrart's body began to soak into his own. His eyes blinked open when something pressed against his lips and they parted in response, the spoon slipping in and Yuuri swallowed what had been offered to him. Conrart slowly fed his lover, not minding at all doing it in a slightly awkward position because Yuuri trusted him completely, eating slowly but steadily.

Yuuri's cheek rested against one broad shoulder, his body curled across Conrart's lap, his back resting against the crook of his husband's arm. The empty bowl was set aside and a thumb stroked across his lower lip, removing the few droplets that clung there before bringing it up to his own mouth and licking it off.

"We'll leave whenever you like, Yuuri. If you don't want to stay for the wedding, we won't."

"But... Lady Cecilie..." Obsidian eyes widened and he pressed his lips together. "I don't want to disappoint her... and you should be here for something so important." No matter how odd it was, Yuuri had seen the way Raven had looked at Cecilie and knew the man loved the former Queen.

"She would understand." Though the explanation of exactly what had happened those months ago in this very castle would likely wound her deeply.

Expression solemn, he shook his head slightly, his fingers tracing across Conrart's cheek and turning the man's face towards him just a little, he leaned upwards and pressed a kiss against his jaw, his forehead resting lightly against the swordsman's temple. "We'll stay. It's a special time for both Cecilie and Raven, I don't want to miss that."

"I love you."

"As I you."

* * *

><p>Yuuri blinked slightly at Conrart as his husband leaned over and nuzzled his ear.<p>

"My sweet Love."

Teeth nibbled softly at his earlobe, warm breath fluttering against his cheek. His hand lifted to curl into Conrart's hair, holding him there and just smiling a little at the display of affection. The sweet whispers that filled his ears were easing his concerns away.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Captain!"

Yuuri's head turned around at the sound of a surprisingly familiar voice and at the man waving at them as he rapidly approached. Ryan, one of the former Guards attached to Covenant Castle was hurrying towards them, his face highly animated and beaming at them.

"It's me! Long time no see!"

"Of course I remember." Conrart drew away from Yuuri just a little, his lips turning upwards into a slight smile for Ryan and felt the King straighten beside him. "Ryan, how have you been?"

"Fine, thank you." The young Tribesman practically beamed at them, clearly delighted by the fact that the King himself was attending what was slowly turning into a pre-wedding celebration. "I was summoned here to act as entertainment for the ceremony."

"Entertainment?" Both of the King's brows went upwards in question, his back straightening while he regarded Ryan with curiosity. The last time he had seen this particular man was when he had been sighted with the sand bear which had separated Gwendal and Yuuri from the rest of their travelling companions in Conansia Svelera.

"Yes, please let me show you the results of all my training since leaving here."

"Wait a minute..." Conrart's lips parted in surprise and a moment of concern. "Ryan? Didn't you leave to become a sand bear handler?"

"Keiji!" Ryan called with good cheer. "Come on, it's alright!"

Everyone looked up from what they were doing when the very ground began to rumble beneath their boots as they were standing to cluster around Ryan, Conrart and Yuuri sharing a concerned look.

Suddenly the centre of the courtyard exploded with the black and white body of the sand bear, its surprisingly cute face just as 'happy' as Ryan's appeared to be. His massive paws spread outwards in greeting as it half cleared the massive hole it had created. Plumes of dust gusted upwards into the air, choking the breath from several of the party.

There was a surprised shout from Stoffel as the man who had been working somewhere amongst the crowds suddenly lost his footing and went sliding downwards into the roiling whirlpool of loose earth and debris. The former nobleman vanished into the dark hole at the bottom of the open pit, his cries swallowed up as well.

"Ryan? What is this? Why is a sand bear here?"

"Actually, Keiji has been practicing really hard to burrow through earth. It was the only way he could perform here. I'm really proud of him."

The insanity of the moment hit them all, just when Yuuri's own boots abruptly went out from under him, the solid earth that had been there moments ago giving way beneath his weight, sending him toppling into the cascades of earth that were pouring downwards through the newly opened hole and into the old tunnels that ran beneath the castle. Yuuri's startled cry had Conrart instantly reaching for him, his fingers missing the King's by inches, while Yuuri tumbled downwards.

"YUURI!"

The King twisted, drawing one arm up over his nose and mouth, desperate to keep the dust from getting into his mouth and lungs, when he pitched into the darkness below with a rush of soil and a deep rumble of churning earth.

Conrart didn't hesitate for a moment, flinging himself forwards into the breach without a word, allowing his body to slide with the motion of the earth, refusing to consider for a moment that Yuuri might just be injured by the fall.

Cecilie's scream tore at Raven's heart as he watched the woman being taken down into that darkness, her bright blond hair streaked with dust and pebbles. Her wide, frightened green eyes staring upwards at Raven, one hand reaching out desperately towards the man.

"Lady Celi!" Raven followed Conrart's example, faulting forwards and allowing the giant pit to swallow him whole.

The absurdity of the moment was compounded by the fact that Keiji's arms were stretched out in a classic 'ta-da!' pose that would have been hilarious if not for the seriousness of the moment.

* * *

><p>A sudden cascade of falling stones and dust spilling from above and striking the stone floor jolted Raven out of unconsciousness, his glacial blue eyes blinking rapidly in an effort to clear his vision. Breath wheezing from his lungs for a few long seconds, while he slowly sat up, a hand brushing across his face and coming away filthy. The vast cavernous space was illuminated by several shafts of life that came down through the breaches in the vaulted ceiling over head. It was through one of those that he had fallen through, the impact knocking him unconscious.<p>

"Lady Celi!"

"Ra...ven."

Instantly he was on his feet, even though he swayed slightly with the heavy blow he had taken to the back of his head in the fall. He was searching the darkness for the woman he loved, his body stilling the moment he spotted her, before jolting back into motion. Dropping to his knees beside her, his arms carefully gathered her up from where she had fallen. "Were you injured?" Concern filled his blue eyes as he gazed down at her, one hand lifting to carefully brush away long golden tresses that had fallen across her face.

"Nothing too bad..." Her voice was soft, her face turning slightly into his touch. "I just... got the wind knocked out of me a little." Eyes studying the ceiling, she let out a soft laugh. "Quite a long way down."

"Do you think you can stand?"

"Yes."

Though his arms remained tightly around her, carefully helping her up and to her feet, his arm coiled protectively around her waist, keeping her close against his larger frame. Several more cascades of rock skittered down from overhead, showing that the entire roof of the underground catacombs was slowly becoming more unstable. What surprised Raven however was the seriousness of her expression, her green eyes not holding the light of their normal mischief, but instead held the shadows of much darker emotions.

"I know the way out from here." Raven said gently, both of them moving forwards, his lips remaining in a slightly troubled line. "Stay close to me, it looks like the roof is quite unstable."

"You were... always protecting me."

"Pardon, my Lady?"

"You were always my protector." Cecilie's emerald gaze remained on his face for a moment, before dropping away and gazing at the darkness before them. "You... you were there when he left me."

Raven swallowed hard at that, his jaw clenching ever so slightly, remembering the burning anger that had consumed him that Dan Hiri Weller would have the nerve to abandon Cecilie like that. Her grief had been so deep, her anguish torturing to his soul when he knew that there was nothing he could do to ease it, but hold her close. "I wished I could have done more."

"You did." She responded, one dirt smudged hand lightly resting against his arm. "You cared for the boys when I... couldn't see beyond my own grief."

"They are all turned out wonderfully... didn't they?" The dark haired man rasped, feeling the weight of so many memories pressing down on him. "I was always proud of their accomplishments... that I was allowed to be a part of their lives." Even when another man had swept Cecilie off her feet for a while. Wolfe Von Bielefeld had been charming, but his narcissism and true underlying personality had seen to the end of Cecilie's third marriage. "I was relieved to see Conrart find someone that could make him happy."

"Yes. I am too, they are a good match." And on that thought, Cecilie paused in mid-stride and turned to confront Raven. "What is going on, Raven?"

"Lady Celi?" Confusion covered his features for a moment, his head cocking to the side slightly at the sudden change of topic.

"I'm not blind, especially not when I saw my brother. What is going on with him Raven? He..." Shaking her head, she couldn't quite explain the change that was slowly coming over Stoffel, the dark guilt that burned in the man's eyes. "And the King. I have never seen the King like that... he looked... frightened..."

"This... this issue is..." Raven knew it would tear out her heart to know, it was why everyone had kept their silence around her, wanting nothing more than to protect her. "It is... only a small..."

"Be honest with me, Raven. You are the only one who always is."

Glacial blue eyes closed as a jolt of pain scorched through him at the memories that assaulted him. "Stoffel had the King abducted the night of his engagement party."

Green eyes widened. "That does... sound like something Stoffel would do... the ambitious man... but..." She knew well just how hard it would be to abduct their King, the man was not helpless. She had been witness to not only his magical abilities, but also his swordsmanship. "What... what did he do?"

"He ordered the men to sedate him... however it took more than the allotted dose to keep him under." Raven murmured softly, his fingers rubbing back through his hair, feeling the emotions boiling up inside of him. Betrayal and his own anger surging in response to what he had seen. "I warned him not to do something so reckless, but he wouldn't listen. He was obsessed, greedy for power." Pacing away from Cecilie, he trembled with the overwhelming emotions, vibrating with the pressure of them on his conscience. "The King was half dead by the time he was brought here. The sedatives apparently are far more toxic to water users than thought... he was dying there... helpless and trapped in his own body..."

"I asked him to reconsider, but he wouldn't. I decided I couldn't betray my King. His Majesty trusted me enough to be able to bring Conrart back to him... it was almost too late before they got him to Gisela. By that time, Gwendal had summoned the King's army... and Stoffel had roused his own... Stoffel would have waged war right there while the King lay dying for all to see." His pacing suddenly stopped, his voice actually cracking. "I told him to stop... half of the army heeded my words... but Stoffel... he wouldn't stop... not then... not when he could see power right before his eyes."

"I broke my promise, Cecilie. I couldn't watch him destroy the kingdom. He..." His fingers touched against his neck lightly, remembering the feeling of the blade cold against his skin, the knowledge that he was about to face his own death. "He stood by as I was about to be executed by one of his men."

A sob escaped the woman, her wide green eyes filled with horror as tears slowly rolled down her dusty cheeks, leaving clean trails behind them over her skin. "No... he... he wouldn't..."

"I'm sorry." His shoulders slumped, his hand reaching out to brush away her tears, feeling the hot droplets sear him all the way down to his soul. "I'm so... so very sorry... I couldn't stop him."

Suddenly Cecilie fell into his arms, her face buried against his throat as his own arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly to him, while great broken sobs escaped her over the fact that her brother had almost killed the one man they had both cared about since they were children. "I should never have asked you... to stay." Her lips lightly touched against his jaw, her fingers curling into the back of his jacket, desperately holding onto the one solid thing in her world. "I... I... he... could have killed you." And it was that fact that almost broke her heart apart right there in her chest, the fact that she could have lost another that she loved through her own foolishness.

"The King saved my life, he stopped the war before it could even begin. He... he spared Stoffel's life because I asked it of him." When they knew that such an attempt on the King's life was always punished by death. "I have been serving in his stead."

And in the darkness, all Raven could do was hold her close as Cecilie's heart shattered.

* * *

><p>Stoffel groaned softly, his body shifting out from under the layer of sand and debris that covered him, coughing and almost gagging on the amount of dirt that had managed to fill his mouth and nose. Pushing himself upwards, a cascade of small stones skittered away into the claustrophobic darkness around him, his entire body stilling when he heard the soft flutter of breath in the darkness beyond where the faint trickles of light illuminated the pile of rubble where he lay.<p>

"Hello?"

There was another soft whisper of air, but no response to his call. One palm stretched out and a single spark was beginning to form between his fingertips, brightening the immediate darkness around him and sending a thousand shadows crawling across the curving walls.

"Hello?" His voice was clearer, his back straightening with sudden awareness that he was definitely not alone down there.

"Stoffel." Obsidian eyes met the troubled blue ones in the gloom as his head lifted upwards from where it had been resting against the wall. Yuuri's lips pressed into a thin line, his fingers curling slightly and just stared at the man for a very long minute.

"Majesty! Are you..."

"Don't concern yourself with me." Yuuri's back stiffened, for once not being able to be kind or show a gentle face before the others when it came to seeing Stoffel again. "I am fine."

"I..." Stoffel slowly stood, his body throbbing in a few places where he had slammed against the hard floor of this particular tunnel, however, he swallowed hard at seeing the razor sharp glare that was being directed at him. There was anger in those obsidian eyes, anger and a distrust that was well placed considering his crimes.

"You lived because of the fact it would break Cecilie's heart if you died. Raven asked for your life to be spared. There were many that protested my choices in this matter." His jaw clenched sharply and he was slowly gaining his own feet, his hand resting against the hilt of his sword ready for anything. "I might admit I have seen a few changes in you since I arrived, but it will take more than this to convince me of the sincerity of your 'rebirth'."

"Sire... I..." Blue eyes closed, his shoulders sagging and knowing that every single word was deserved, his heart throbbed painfully in his chest knowing that he had betrayed every single person around him. "I want to prove myself, Sire. I just wish I knew how to do so..."

"No one knows how to redeem themselves." Yuuri's expression softened only a touch, but his hand remained in place. "It is the internal realisation of what they have done and their efforts to correct those mistakes that are proof."

"I know what I did was... wrong." The wall of guilt that ate him up daily was proof that he understood his wrong doing.

"Do you truly realise what you did, Stoffel?"

"I..."

"Do you know the pain that you are responsible for? The suffering of innocents? The thousands of lives that your selfish decisions _ended_?" His voice was a low growl, his arms stretching wide, his eyes flashing with blue sparks of magic. "Do you know what you did to the people who loved you? What will happen to your sister when she finds out what happened? Do you know the suffering you caused the man I love?"

Stoffel stood in silence, knowing there was nothing he could honestly say to defend himself.

"He wakes up _screaming_." Yuuri's jaw gritted, a single tear streaking down his cheek, his entire body shaking with the force of his own hatred of this man. "Have you ever woken to the sound of the one you love, terrified and scared that you are dead? It tears out my heart to see his tears."

The light that sparked between Stoffel's fingers fluttered wildly as the man really was confronted by what he had done, the deaths that fell directly onto his shoulders.

"When you can prove you truly understand what you have done, then maybe I can forgive you. Not now. Not here." The king's head tipped to the side, hearing the distant slip of stone and dust coming from the still open gap in the collapsed end of the tunnel where they had both ended up sliding through.

"Love!" Conrart appeared out of the darkness, sliding down across the pile of rubble and came to a halt at the bottom, his hand already reaching for his sword at the sight of Stoffel. He didn't hesitate for a moment, the blade clearing its sheath as he was striding forwards, anger sparking in his swirling silver-brown eyes. "Get away from him, _Uncle_." Conrart literally spat that word, his expression promising a thousand different kinds of death for the man who had dared to get too close to Yuuri for his liking.

"No." Yuuri's hand lightly touched against the back of Conrart's, stilling him with the simple gesture. "He hasn't harmed me. Leave him be." Turning away from Stoffel, he gazed up into his husband's face, reaching out and lightly brushing away the dust that clung to his skin, stroking his fingertips against his lover's cheek tenderly. "Let's just leave this place."

Conrart nodded once, but his sword remained free from its scabbard, his eyes a solid silver, warning the former noble that he wasn't afraid to cut him down right here if he so much as stepped wrong. When Yuuri shifted away and down the undamaged part of the corridor, Conrart leaned in close, his teeth flashing in a warning snarl. "You so much as think of touching him, Stoffel and you will find my blade in your heart. Do I make myself clear? You are only alive because of his good graces."

"Understood." Stoffel murmured, watching the two as they moved away down the corridor only following behind when he saw them turn the corner.

* * *

><p>The resounding slap of skin hitting skin echoed throughout the space the force of the blow sending Stoffel staggering back several steps, his blue eyes widening over the fact that it was his sister standing there before him hand still partially raised.<p>

"How could you?" Her green eyes burned with anger and hurt. "How could you do such a thing, Stoffel? After all that you have done before." Expression turning sorrowful, her gaze softened immediately when it fell upon her son and Yuuri Shibuya, her hand covering her mouth to stifle the sounds that wanted to escape. "I trusted you, Brother. I trusted you to protect Raven, to do the _right_ thing for once and protect the man I love."

"Celi..."

"Don't speak my name." She stared back at her brother, incomprehension flickering over her features. "Don't think that you can ever win me over to your plans. You almost killed my son _once _and I was a coward not to challenge you. Harming the King... and taking him from my son... taking the one thing that makes him **happy**... I can't forgive you for that."

Stoffel had found himself finally cornered, the weight of those who had once mattered to him finally turning their backs on him, seeing him for what he had been and still was. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something... _anything_ in response, but nothing came out.

"Mother..." Conrart's hand lightly touched her blonde locks, touched by her words, touched by the emotions that shone so brightly on her face.

"You... love me?" Raven's voice was a soft whisper, his pale blue orbs widening in surprise. "...Celi..." He couldn't seem to find any words to respond to her declaration, his heart in his throat.

"I... I admit I always have." She had just never acted upon it, but seeing this, knowing what her brother had done, she could no longer step back and let Stoffel have the one man that might just make her happy too. "I have always loved you, Raven. I just never realised how much. Its why I want to marry you."

The usually stoic man reached out to carefully take her hand, drawing it upwards and pressing the softest of kisses against the palm. "I love you."

A gentle tug and she was being drawn into Raven's arms, his head dipping down and covering her mouth with a warm kiss that expressed everything that rested within his heart. Her hands slipped into his dark hair drawing him closer, deepening the contact between them. It was obvious in that one moment that there were so many things between the two and that their love was a genuine thing.

* * *

><p>"It was amazing, wasn't it?" Yuuri leaned against the railing of the balcony and gazed down at the celebrations that lit up the entire castle, every inch of the gardens and courtyards filled with celebrating people and a variety of stalls and entertainments. However, his gaze soon fell on the couple that were dancing amongst several other pairs on the one clear area bathed in the golden glow of a dozen torches. "She really did look happy, I think... I've never seen her honestly happy like that, there has always been a sadness to her."<p>

"Mother did look content, I thought I even saw Raven smile at one point." Conrart rested back against the railing beside Yuuri, his eyes however not on the celebrations but on his beloved. "I never truly realised just what it was between them."

"Did you see Wolfram's face?" The King chuckled softly, feeling the joy of this night fill even his soul. "I thought he was about to explode when they told him they were marrying tonight." Amusement glittered in his obsidian gaze as he tipped his head up to meet the eyes of his own husband. "Do you know what... I think Wolfram won't get his wish regarding your Mother and 'no more children'."

"Any child of theirs is most welcome." The soldier reached out to carefully slip his fingers beneath Yuuri's, drawing them up off the cool stone and to his mouth, tongue flickering lightly over sensitive fingertips.

"I do have to admit, Ryan and Keiji's performance was quite spectacular, though Gunter looked like he was ready to scold them again for accidentally placing me in danger. As we both can see, I'm fine." Grinning up at Conrart, he tipped his head towards where the aforementioned pair were settled amongst the wilder parts of the garden, Keiji was wolfing down food like it was nothing, proving that like Panda's in the Alternative World, they were quite honestly walking bottomless pits. "Do you know... Keiji reminds me of a black hole... swallowing everything in sight..."

"He would be quite a cute... black and white hole then."

Yuuri shook his head slightly, amusement crossing his features. "Bottomless pit, sixty-five feet deep."

Both of Conrart's brows lifted at that, head tipping rather adorably to the side in question.

"It's a sign I read once, oddly fitting as a description for today..."

"I would have to agree with that."

The soft evening breeze drifted upwards from the gardens, bring it with it a floral freshness and the slow waltz that the small orchestra was playing for the dancing couples.

"That music..."

"Dance with me." Conrart whispered softly, drawing Yuuri away from the railing and into the soft glow of the torch that rested by the doorway and spilled across the stone of the balcony. "Let us celebrate their happiness."

"I wouldn't mind celebrating ours."

Conrart stepped in, his fingers curling around one of Yuuri's hands and drawing the man forwards and against him, his other hand slipping around to rest on the small of Yuuri's back. And through the sweeping melody of the waltz, Conrart lead Yuuri easily through the steps, their bodies brushing together, spinning and whirling as their palms touched, fingertips entwined. Their hearts beat as one, swept away by the joy of the evening, the new hope that Raven and Cecilie were sharing with them.

* * *

><p>Neither man however saw the single figure silhouetted by the candles inside one of the rooms on the other wing of the house, the dark shadow's head bowed in grief as he was shut out of the celebrations, no longer welcomed by his family. Stoffel Von Spitzweg gazed out into the night at the merriment of the people and of his nephews and sister and finally realised exactly what it was he had lost. One hand pressed against the cold glass that stood between them, blue eyes widening ever so slightly as he stared at his own reflection in that window, at the arrogance that still lingered in every line of his face.<p>

For the first time, Stoffel saw the monster he had become staring back at him from within his own eyes. The creature he had allowed to grow inside of himself and it terrified him. "What... what have I become?"

Horror slammed into him as his knees buckled and set him to the ground when he finally felt the sparks of true guilt and remorse for what he had done, as tears slowly began to slip down his face while the sounds of joy echoed through the hallways of what had once been his home. A joy that he was no part of and had nearly destroyed in his own brutal arrogance and ambition.

"What have I... become...?"

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you like it. I admit that my version of KKM is darker than the anime, but I think that it's turning out quite well! OH! guess what? Bearbees are next LOL<strong>


	18. Part 18: Magic Dwells

**Author's Note: this might have been a filler episode for the Anime, but I actually found it gave me the perfect opportunity to add in something that will be quite important in the future when it comes to Conrart. I couldn't help it, but if you look in previous chapters... you might notice it. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but a bearbee XD I called him Cuddles! **

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Rain spilled down across the grounds of Covenant Castle, dampening the air and soaking into the soil, it also soaked the two warriors locked in combat.

Metal met metal in a sharp clang, blades locking together only for a moment, before a leg swept out towards Yuuri's ankles, almost catching him, but he was leaping over it. He was using the force of Conrart's block to pushing himself backwards, the moment his boots touched the ground, he was immediately lunging forwards, their blades meeting again.

Spinning, they were dancing across the courtyard, blades flashing in the early morning gloom, their breaths coming out in heavy misted pants. Neither was willing to admit defeat, even for a moment, the two of them only dressed in pants and boots, their skin glistening with sweat from their exertions. Pants clung to their hips and legs, soaked by the rain as it plastered the long hair down to necks and shoulders as they ignored the rain in favour of their duel. It was fierce and deadly, neither man pulling either their blows or their attempts to defeat their opponent.

Yuuri and Conrart were fighting as if they had been doing it for years, their reactions and anticipation of the other's tactics showing that the daily duels were making them an efficient fighting pair. Though Yuuri didn't have the power, he was a touch faster in his reaction times and more agile, his size working to his advantage at times. The air seemed to hum with the force of their duel, vibrating with the energy that surged back and forth between the two men.

"_Mine_." Conrart's molten silver eyes were showing that there was most assuredly Demon Tribe blood in the man, showing the inhuman element that burned within him. The single word spoke of a deep possessiveness, of the hunger that he felt for his challenger, his desire to defeat and claim the prize.

"Only if you can pin me." Yuuri smirked, twisting so that he caught the edge of Conrart's blade on the tip of his own, allowing Conrart's blade to slide harmlessly away from his body as his own brushed up against Conrart's seductively skin against skin, their flesh burning where they touched. "I'll only surrender if you can do that."

"Complete surrender." Conrart challenged, wet strands swaying before his silver gaze.

"Oh yes." Yuuri knew in the end, he would lose, no matter his skill, Conrart was born to fight with a sword, born to be a true warrior. "Utter and complete."

The half-breed let out a hungry growl, eyes narrowing. He drove forwards, blade slashing hard against Yuuri's, forcing the King to actually staggering backwards. The moment he sensed the weakness, he lashed out, Yuuri managing to block him for several long moments, before his wrist twisted and Yuuri's blade went spinning away, skittering across the slick gravel, sending up lightly sparks.

Yuuri's body was humming with magic, it tickled through his entire bloodstream. The hiss of the blade was coming down towards him, deadly and swift, something that could cleave his head from his shoulders, challenging him.

Suddenly he lifted his hand to deflect and the blade did stop went it met with the oddest ringing of metal against something as solid as stone. A blade forged from the water around him shimmered in his grip, responding to his need and also to the challenge of a man who could easily kill him.

"Do not hesitate!" Conrart shouted at him, silver eyes blazing into his own. "DO NOT HESITATE!"

And Yuuri didn't, using the blade now in his grip to deflect the second harsher blow that came towards him, using what he had. It was the first time he had ever forged a personal weapon from water, though he knew how to create things from it... it had never been like this. The thrill chased up his spine as he met Conrart's blows, driving the taller man back a step in his next several parries and thrusts.

"_Focus_."

Using the power of Conrart's blows to power his own responses, the King found his step and the rhythm of battle in the elements that rained down around him. The exhilaration was like nothing he had ever experienced before, surging and pulsing through his blood, his body hungry for more. Finding his ground, even when his muscles burned and screamed from receiving blow after blow, he didn't stop, didn't give up and didn't hesitate.

He wanted to please Conrart. It was in moments like this that he saw something in his husband's eyes, a flame of passion and fierce determination that scorched him to his soul.

Conrart was driving him to his physical limit, even when the man was approaching his own.

It was then that he felt the flat of his lover's blade connect somewhere with his body, getting through his guard and shredding it. It knocked him sideways and into one of the trees that ringed the courtyard. The blade suddenly vanished from his grip, his concentration broken and reduced it to nothing more than a wild fall of water droplets spilling across the grass.

Before he could make a sound Conrart was on him, pinning him there, a large calloused hand wrapping around his wrists and pinning them to the rough back over his head as he was pressed face first against the damp trunk. "_You_ _are_ _mine_." It was a fierce growl against Yuuri's ear, making him arch and let out a hissed breath when he felt a hand at his belt, roughly tugging at the leather, freeing it with several movements and the water sodden fabric was sliding down to his thighs, exposing him to his lover's touches. "Say it." Conrart snarled, his silver eyes blazing, the air around his body crackling with suppressed energy that surged just beneath the surface, trapped within with no way to escape.

"Conrart." He groaned hoarsely as he felt his husband's erection hot and hard against his entrance. Their skin was slick from mingled sweat and rain, making them slide together erotically.

A warning snarl slid over the shell of Yuuri's ear.

Yuuri could barely breath... trapped beneath a man who was a _predator_, the lion people had long ago called him. His fingers curled helplessly against the bark of the tree, body straining against the one pressed along his back. His legs were kicked apart, spreading him and he actually did scream then, entire frame trembling as he was suddenly taken from behind without warning. The movement burned along every nerve ending he had, setting his body alight. Another muffled scream escaped him as he pressed his face against his forearm, eyes closing as Conrart thrust hard enough into him to almost lift him up off his feet.

"Remember this." The words were barely audible while Conrart's face nuzzled against Yuuri's throat, teeth nipping and leaving dark marks on the pale skin. "Remember you are **mine**. I will _kill_ anyone that thinks that they can take you from me."

His entire body was on fire, Yuuri's sweetspot practically burning with every thrust that pushed Conrart deeper and deeper into his willing body, his muscles clenched tightly around that invading length, even those they too were strained by the invasion. He didn't resist, he welcomed the feeling. The friction was scorching them both, Conrart's thrusts becoming quicker and even harder, his free hand curled around Yuuri's own length, jerking him off roughly in counterpoint to his thrusts, driving Yuuri towards that edge.

"_Yours_." The half-blood King whimpered out between panted breaths.

The King was screaming in raw pleasure, his voice only muffled by the rumbles of thunder and the pouring rain that spilled down over both of them, leaving their skin chilled, even though their bodies burned. He exploded with the force of a cannon blast, hips arching backwards, muscles clamping down painfully hard on that length, spilling himself over his lover's fingers. A second climax burned through his trembling limbs when white hot heat erupted deep inside him, scolding every nerve ending he had deep within, his head arching back as his cry mingled with Conrart's.

Sagging helplessly into his lover's arms, he trembled from the force of what they had both just done in the middle of the training courtyard. There was no shame in it... the two of them unable to hide the burning love that sung between the two of them. A soft little moan escaped him when he felt Conrart pull out of him, his body still aching for more, but knowing that they both had obligations...

"Yuuri...?" Conrart's voice was soft as he drew his lover's pants upwards, buckling them into place, a hand resting lightly against his belly, rubbing in soothing circles as he held him close.

"...Yes...?" He didn't think his legs could even hold him up right at that moment after their interlude.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" The man's mouth brushed against one shoulder tenderly, tongue flicking over several of the dark love bites he had left across Yuuri's skin. "I..."

"I liked it."

"Really?"

"Hell, yes!" His arm reached back to curl around the back of his lover's head, pulling it down and forwards and placing a burning hot kiss against his lover's mouth, tongue invading Conrart's as his body had been taken minutes before. A husky little moan escaped him as he shuddered and arched himself back against his lover. "I hope you will finish what you started tonight." Licking and biting his lover's lower lip, he sucked on it playfully. "This was fun."

"I'm glad you think so." A touch breathless, Conrart wrapped both arms around Yuuri, just holding him like that, the rain sliding down over their bodies and slowly beginning to cool the raging heat that lay within both of them. "I'll miss you every moment I am not by your side." Touching his lips to his lover's wildly throbbing pulse, he smiled softly against the slightly salty skin.

"And I feel the same way... It is lonely here without you."

It was with great reluctances that they forced themselves to part and head back inside to dry themselves and finally start their separate duties for the day.

* * *

><p>"Wolfram..." Yuuri's nose wrinkled sharply in response to the stench that was wafting through the vast space, his eyes were actually stinging from the acridity of it. "As must as I would like to continue indulging your artistic persuasions... <em>that<em> smell... it is quite awful."

"It's the highest quality paint that can only be extracted from the faecal matter of a rare animal." Wolfram's words were raspy, his nose plugged off by a small white clip. "You promised, Brother."The younger blonde waved the brushed at him slightly, lifting one fine brow in question.

"Quality family time..." Yuuri wanted to groan at Cecilie's helpful 'suggestion' which had dropped him right in this particularly unpalatable mess. He never should have agreed. _Never_. The stench from the paints was almost making him gag it was so strong and it was doubtful they would ever get it out of the curtains and upholstery of this particular room. "Remind me never to listen to your mother when she decides to make _suggestions_."

"There!" Wolfram announced suddenly, startling Yuuri.

The King let out a relieved sigh as his body uncoiled itself from the unnatural position he had spent at least the last two hours in. Soon coming around the back of the easel and canvas and stared in abject horror at what was on the canvas. He swallowed his own comments about the skill or lack thereof in the work. "It is very... _original_."

"You think so?" Wolfram tipped his head slightly and studied the image, seeming pleased enough with it he stood.

"Yes." He nodded once, firmly. "Very much so."

The King was moving towards the table where he had left his sword belt and several other items he had brought with him from his office. Belting his scabbard into place, he tugged down on the edges of his black and gold uniform, smoothing down the collar. Thankfully Wolfram had known that partial nude paints were definitely not going to occur and this particular exercise would never be repeated, _ever_.

Lifting up the castle map, he also hefted up the set of keys that he sometimes used when he was doing smaller inspections of part of the castle, feeling it was part of his duty as King to know everything about how the castle was run. Usually that particular activity would be done with Adalbert, something Yuuri found himself actually enjoying, the man's dry sarcasm was quite entertaining and he actually got along quite well with the man who had settled into the position of Captain of the Guard as if he had been born to it. However, Adalbert had the day off and was spending it out in the city with Gisela, something that made him smile.

A soft sound escaped him as he realised there was no one else that had the time for such an activity with him. Conrart was currently out in one of the villages on one of his day trips, Gwendal would be going on a long ride with a large number of his own personal guard and Gunter was in the library concocting one of his lesson plans that made Yuuri want to cringe because it would likely involve etiquette. It was foolish doing it on his own, especially in the sections of the castle he wanted to examine.

"Can I help, Yuuri?"

Yuuri was startled by his thoughts, his head jerking upwards and his dark eyes met the vivid green that were so much like Cecilie's. Wolfram stood barely a few feet away, looking surprisingly uncomfortable and finally lifted his chin.

"Help with...?"

"Anything." The younger man said, looking up into his brother-in-law's face, before rubbing a hand back through his blonde locks, sweeping them away from his eyes and looking uncertain. "I want to be useful for once. I always see you so busy with everyone else... I just... I feel useless."

The King suddenly felt a touch guilty at that, before offering Wolfram a broad smile. "You can help me with this, Brother. I have to examine the guest wing of the castle this morning and determine whether or not I should commit the funds needed to repair and renovate it."

"Have you heard the rumours? That building has been overtaken by monsters."

"Monsters?" One eyebrow lifted at that.

"I don't know what they are, but they feed on Demon Tribe and humans alike."

Now that just sounded illogical even to his own ears when Wolfram put it like that. Adalbert and Conrart would never allow anything that dangerous to remain within the castle grounds, especially when he was present. _Still_. A smile tugged at his lips again and he nodded once. "Let's go and see if we can find these monsters and while we are doing so, we can examine the structural soundness of the building."

"Sure."

* * *

><p>Yuuri's head tipped back slightly to examine the three storey building before him, taking in the wear on the outer faces of the stone and yellow plastering. It was clear this particular building hadn't been repaired or maintained for some time. Its design actually looked significantly different in places from the rest of the castle surrounding them, especially when it came to the decorative reliefs just underneath the eaves of a roof that was made from red slates rather than the usual teal blue of the rest of the castle. There was something oddly charming about it, it was a shame that it hadn't been maintained.<p>

"Are you certain about this?" Wolfram eyed the guest wing with suspicion.

"Well. It's one of the last things that I need to acquaint myself with. I am certain that the rumours about monsters are just that. _Rumours_."

Yuuri withdrew the keys were they had been hanging from his belt, carefully searching through each before finding the one that he wanted, slipping it into the rather large padlock on the main doors. One twist and the lock disengaged, the bolt lifting and coming free in one hand. "I am not certain how structurally sound this building is, Wolfram, watch your footing."

The doors creaked open on rusty hinges, sending a streak of light spilling into the surprisingly dry interior, however a large whirl of dust motes had been dislodged by the fresh air that spilled into the stale ground floor greeting hall. Wolfram was already striding forwards into the gloom, the floor boards groaning in soft protest beneath the boy's weight.

Yuuri suddenly had a pang of regret for even suggesting this particular course of action. The dusty interior was far more deteriorated than he had initially concluded on an outside inspection of the guest wing. Every surface was covered in a layer of dust an inch thick, cobwebs hung from every possible edge or image, even the chandler overhead was tilted at a jaunty angle.

"Wolfram!"

"What?" The boy turned around, green eyes sparking with curiosity. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Come back this way slowly, Wolfram. I don't think this was a good choice on my part." One hand reached out for his brother-in-law, his expression worried, though his gaze dropped down towards the wood floor just before him.

"Are you scared of those monsters, Yuuri?" A grin came to Wolfram's lips, though it was slowly beginning to fade as he gazed into Yuuri's eyes. "You... really are..."

"Wolfram... come back slowly towards me."

The floor gave an ominous creak just beneath Wolfram's boots, the rotten boards bowing suddenly beneath the boy's foot. The wood buckled suddenly and splintered, shattering right there underneath him, sending him plunging downwards into the darkness of the cellars below. Wolfram's nails dug into the wood of the boards as he was sliding forwards, a sound of surprise and terror escaping him.

Yuuri was darting forwards, landing on his belly and catching Wolfram's wrists, fingers curling tightly around them and stopping Wolfram's slide downwards into that dark expanse beneath him. "Hold on." He hissed out, his muscles straining as he was practically taking all of Wolfram's weight as the man's elbows slipped beneath the jagged edge of the hole.

There was a rather loud creak from just beneath where his body lay across the wooden boards, when he felt them suddenly beginning to bow under even his spread weight. His grip tightening as he was attempting to force himself upwards and back to draw Wolfram up and out of that hole, but there was a sickening crack when wood cracked beneath him.

Abruptly he was pitched forwards, the feeling of empty air wrapping around his body once more like it had only a week before at Spitzweg castle. He was starting to hate long drops. Both of them went tumbling down into the darkness of the guest wing cellars with a muffled cry escaping Wolfram as they went.

* * *

><p>Gwendal's dark brows lifted slightly as he regarded the agitated Gunter with exasperation. It was clear that once again the royal aide was going to drive everyone within the castle rather mad with his exclamations about the King being missing. He had seen this before, usually occurring once every ten days when Gunter went overboard with the etiquette lessons and the King finally escaped to somewhere in the castle to escape the terror that was Gunter in full lecture mode.<p>

Honestly, Gwendal couldn't blame the King.

"What is the problem, Gunter?" Gwendal rumbled as he regarded the several guards that had been half cornered by the Aide, a sigh escaping him.

And immediately Gunter went into a rather large torrent of words that flowed over each other like water pouring too quickly out of a teapot and spilling over the sides.

"Let me get this straight, his Majesty has disappeared?" Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he shrugged broad shoulders slightly. "I am sure it is most likely not serious. However, are you certain Wolfram is missing as well?"

"You don't think that they took each other by the hand..."

"Don't even finish that comment, Gunter. We both know that his Majesty has no interest in anyone _but_ Conrart." Clearing his throat, he looked at anywhere else but at Gunter, rubbing a hand back through his hair and rubbing his eyes lightly. "This morning's episode should have been enough to convince you of that." He had been practically trapped in one of the downstairs rooms because of the fact their King and his consort had decided to use the training grounds as a bedroom. The sound had been enough to make him aware of what was occurring.

"What... episode?" Gunter peered into Gwendal's slightly reddened features with curiosity.

"Never mind that." Gwendal sighed, his gaze turning to the guards a scowl touching his lips for a moment. "The long ride is cancelled to be on the safe side." Rubbing his jaw again, he considered the problem at hand, admitting that he was not certain what duties the King had been attending to that morning other than indulging in personal relations after a sparring match and allowing Wolfram to paint him with those nasty paints. "Where is Adalbert?"

"He's been gone since this morning with Lady Gisela, Sir." One guard responded, verdant green eyes troubled. "The Highness, the Prince has been gone since the rain stopped to one of the villages."

Gwendal's scowl deepened at that, though surprised by how his brother had been described by the soldiers as being 'the Prince', but it was true, Conrart Weller was in a few more weeks going to be their Prince when he 'officially' married the King. "Prepare to search the grounds." The King was not one to leave the castle grounds without first alerting someone that he was going out for a ride, their King was not thoughtless in that regard.

"You will not need an old fashion search party."

Lord Von Voltaire wanted to groan rather loudly the moment he heard Anissina's voice, his teeth gritting together but knowing that attempting to find the King when he didn't wish to be found was quite a task in and of itself.

"I heard the whole sad story." Her hands rested on her slender hips, the three maids hovering just behind her. "It appears as if my latest high-tech invention was completed just in time to save the day once more."

* * *

><p>There was a shimmer of magic, as Yuuri stretched out a hand towards Wolfram, both of them buoyed up for a moment by a shimmering, thin bubble of water, before it shattered under the pressure and sent them thumping to the hard ground several feet below it. Both men sat there groaning softly as they attempted to sit up, as different parts of their anatomy registered the hard impact.<p>

"Damn." Yuuri hissed out, slowly getting to his feet and rubbing lightly at one side of his hip where he had landed awkwardly on his side, his fingers rubbing back through his hair and pushing it out of his eyes as he gazed over to see Wolfram wincing from where he had come smack down on his bottom on the hard floor. Tipping his head upwards, he stared at the large hole above them in the ceiling where they had both fallen through and sighed. "Remind me to practice that flying thing." He had done it once before... it looked like he needed to practice it again considering how his spell had burst under such pressure when he had quickly cast it.

"Flying?" Wolfram's blonde brows shot upwards in surprise.

"Okay if you want to be more specific, the _floating_ thing."

"You can..."

"Apparently yes. I did it before, don't quite know how I managed it though..." However, his voice trailed off as he gazed around himself at their surroundings and what was there in the gloom.

His eyes widened at the sight of the large caterpillar like creatures that were crowding in around them, their large eyes watching them with interest. For all of their size they didn't seem intent on harming either of them... they almost seemed like that were 'purring', a low vibration running up through the floor and through their bodies.

"Monsters?" Yuuri shook his head slightly as he felt the tickle of magic brush against his palms, assuring him that these creatures had no intention of harming either of them. "I doubt they could ever be considered that." One hand stretched out and several of the creatures instantly responded to the offer, rubbing their surprisingly soft skinned heads against his palm. A soft laugh escaped Yuuri, his eyes closing as he was soon being swarmed by the caterpillars that brushed themselves up against Yuuri's pants and sides.

"Brother...!" Wolfram retreated a step, eying the creatures warily. "What are you...?"

"They mean us no harm." Yuuri laughed softly, eyes drifting closed at the odd sense of warmth that they sparked within him.

Abruptly a few of the people-sized caterpillars begun to spin themselves cocoons, attaching themselves to both the roof and support beams of the old guest wing. Slowly the others began the process as well, chittering softly to each other as they began to weave themselves protective shells, encasing themselves within.

Several lifted their heads, mouths opening in Wolfram's direction as the boy stared at them in confusion. It was clear they were just about to 'help' Wolfram spin a cocoon of his own, but were stilled by Yuuri's touch. The large insects seemed to shuffle away, preventing both Yuuri and Wolfram from getting caught up in the masses of webbing they were beginning to spin around them.

"We are well, friends. Thank you for your concern." His voice was soft as he caught several strange glances from the insects, as if they were checking to see that Yuuri and Wolfram hadn't changed their minds about joining them in their silken cocoons, which offered sanctuary from the outside elements and the world while they changed. It touched him that they would worried.

Seconds slowly slid into minutes as they watched in silence, unwilling to disturb what was occurring all around them. Soon the men were practically surrounded by cocoons, they filled every single corner and empty space in the enclosed cellars. Yuuri studied them for a long moment, amusement playing across his features.

"What now?" Wolfram asked with a soft huff, his arms crossing over his chest and staring around them at the hundred or more cocoons that seemed to glow softly from within in the gloom that surrounded them. "What exactly are you going to do about all these? What's going to happen when they hatch? They could be monsters for all you know."

"I doubt that, Wolfram... I honestly doubt they truly are monsters. It's just a feeling."

"Is your feeling going to help us get out of here? _There aren't any stairs_."

* * *

><p>"A love detector?" Gwendal honestly wanted to groan, his expression full of exasperation. Sometimes Anissina really did come up the strangest inventions that just made the entire mind boggle.<p>

"Precisely." Anissina practically beamed at them, pleased with her invention beyond words. "Distilled from the cream of cutting edge magical science, I present the Love Detector. Pure love, chaste love, wicked love, twisted love, perverted love. It is now possible to locate love of all flavours."

With the click of her fingers the three maids were quickly surrounding Gwendal, one of them offering up an odd little headband which was studded with two dozen little light globes.

To Gwendal's dismay, his eyes flickered to either side of himself, his brows drawing together as he realised with a small sense of horror that he was definitely going to be the guinea pig for Anissina's experiments yet again. "Wait!" Gwendal was shifting uncomfortably, his agitation becoming quite apparent. "What are you doing?"

"Now I have a power source and a guinea pig for my demonstration." Soon she was holding up several tiny stuffed sand bear toys in both hands right before Gwendal's nose. "Please observe."

The strange head contraption had indeed somehow found its way onto his head much to his own consternation. However, Gwendal's gaze dropped to the three toys that Anissina held, his eyes widening ever so slightly and his heart twisted in his chest, his expression softening at the sight.

Suddenly the dome on top of Anissina's device lightened, a tiny pink love heart beginning to spin slowly within the clear space within the hemisphere. "This is a love reaction, triangulating upon your love for all things cute and cuddly." Anissina looked rather pleased with herself. Blue eyes sparkled with delight over the perfect demonstration of her new device's power.

Gwendal made a choked sound in the back of his throat, a slight flush beginning to spread across his cheekbones, his dark blue eyes glancing away from Anissina.

"True love is not a thing you can hide." She smirked a little. "If Wolfram has in fact eloped with his Majesty we would definitely be able to detect such powerful love vibrations."

"Wolfram would _not_ elope with Yuuri." The notion of their King eloping with anyone given the fact that he was actually married was completely outrageous.

"Never mind that, come Gwendal, provide me with all the power of your love and we will be able to see them!"

The love heart began to grow larger, spinning a little more rapidly in the heart of the device, clearly not beginning to move from where they were standing.

"Anissina, is this within the walls of the Castle?" From the look on his face, Gwendal had a suspicion that that was exactly what this device didn't do. It might detect love... but finding it was another thing and giving exact coordinates was beyond the contraption's ability. "Is this a failure? Can this even give you directions?"

"It may be a failure for the moment. However!" Anissina actually rubbed her hands when her eyes landed squarely on her second favourite guinea pig who was still bemoaning the fact that his Majesty had vanished. "We shall bring out the power of..."

"Gwendal?" A bemused Conrart Weller lifted one chocolate brow upwards as he gazed at his elder brother, lips twitching at the corners over the ridiculous headpiece that he was wearing. The lights had begun to flash randomly along its length, looking more the Demon Kingdom's response to the hippy movement. "Exactly what are you doing?"

"Perfect!" The inventor fairly crowed with delight after having fiddled with several wires and transformed the 'love detector' into the 'love magnet'. "You are just in time to assist me find his Majesty and Wolfram."

"Yuuri is missing?" All amusement faded from Conrart's features, his cinnamon eyes sparking silver, brows drawing down as he regarded both Gwendal and Gunter with a troubled glance. "When and for how long?"

"According to Gunter, over an hour ago and somewhere in the castle grounds."

Conrart immediately relaxed at that, having a very good idea where his husband might be given the hour and the day. However, he abruptly found the odd device that had once adorned Gwendal's head plonked onto his own, his hand immediately reaching upwards to remove the contraption. "Now is not the time, Anissina. You know very well I can be of no assistance at all with your devices. I..." Especially not when his heart still ached a little with worry for Yuuri, something he was unable to shake. "I need to find Yuuri."

However...

There was a sudden hum from the device, the magnet mounted on the top of it immediately beginning to shimmer with a touch of magic. The readings were going haywire on it. The lights on the band wrapped around Conrart's head burned a bright pale red, every single one of them lit up like those on a Christmas Tree. Conrart's cinnamon eyes flashed a molten silver as they stared at the device in confusion. The indicators build into the face of the machine redlined, the glass cover cracking under the sudden wash of intense power that poured into its circuitry.

"The circuits are overloading!" Anissina stood stock still, staring at the readings, disbelieving when her eyes stared into the inhuman silver ones of a man she had known her entire life. Those eyes belonged to a member of the Demon Tribe, not a half-breed like Conrart Weller.

The machine practically vibrated on the spot, smoke beginning to stream out of very seams.

The soldier tugged it from his head, feeling the heat of the bulbs actually singe his fingertips as he flung it away and turned. His senses were screaming at him that the worry that had been niggling in the back of his mind was something far more dangerous. He sprinted away across the castle grounds, hearing Gwendal and Gunter shouting after him as he ran.

The one thing however that followed him was the fact that unlike every other time before that Anissina had attempted to use a magical device on him... this time it had _worked_, though the question remained had it been something from him... or what was left over from when Gwendal had used it.

* * *

><p>"It's so warm." Yuuri's expression was relaxed as his palm pressed against the smooth silk of the cocoon, fingertips tracing the length of individual strands, feeling the tickling pulse of warmth drift up along his arm and into him. "Can you feel it, Wolfram?" It was almost like someone holding him, the sense of heat sliding all the way through his body.<p>

"When it hatches, it's going to eat you first." Wolfram huffed out softly, green eyes focused on Yuuri Shibuya Weller and couldn't help but feel a smile tug at his lips as he just watched the black haired King. "You are a wimp."

Now that made Yuuri turn slightly, his head tipping back and dark hair cascaded down across one cheek and eye, lips twitching upwards in response to the comment. "How am I a wimp?"

"You... you..." A hand waved around at the dozens of cocoons that surrounded them. "_This_."

"This, what?"

"You love everything and everyone to the point of showing mercy when you _shouldn't _because of it." Lips pressing together, the younger man regarded Yuuri from underneath long locks of gold, green eyes a touched confused. "How can you be so... compassionate? Love is meant to be for one person... You love _Conrart_. It isn't possible to share your love with... everything... how can you care about people who would hurt you if they could?"

"Wolfram. Love is..." Yuuri let out a breath, his heart expanding within him at the thought of Conrart, unaware of the growing warmth of the cocoon that still rested under his touch behind him. "There are many forms of love..." Sighing, he wished he knew quite how to explain what he was feeling to the younger man. "What I feel for Conrart is... _true_ love, there is no one in the world that could ever replace him if I lost him. I would give my life for his in a heartbeat. The love I feel for you, Gwendal and Cecilie is that for family... my heart overflows with my emotions, Wolfram... there is so much love within me... I cannot help but give it... to share it with others. It is... a joyful love, a celebration..."

Wolfram gave him a rather sceptical look.

"I guess I'm no good at explaining such things." Leaning back, his shoulders rested lightly against the cocoon, feeling the soft steady thrum of a heartbeat within, the same joy he had felt in that rainstorm in Svelera filling him. It was a boundless thing, one that filled him at odd moments... spilling over and into every inch of the world around him.

His head lifted, his chest rising sharply as he became aware of something more in the air and a happy sound escaped his lips, his obsidian eyes focused somewhere on the roof. "Conrart."

"What...?" Wolfram's green eyes blinked at his brother's name escaping the King's lips. "What about Conrart?"

"He's home."

"How do you know that? It's not possible."

"I just know." It was like a piece of him that had been missing was finally back once more. "He's home and he's coming for us."

Suddenly the sleeping giant awoke behind Yuuri, the brilliant blue cocoon vibrating against his back and making Yuuri jerk around as several splinters of wood began to rain down over head.

"It's starting to collapse under the weight of the cocoons." Wolfram said with a start, his eye widening in horror as the entire building began to vibrate, the rotten timbers beginning to buckle and give underneath the strain.

Dust flew upwards into the air as the first of the cocoons snapped its moorings to the support pillars, slamming hard into the ground. Debris pelted the two men, driving them back and away from the shimmering blue cocoon who had been absorbing the bright love that had been moving through Yuuri.

There was another sickening crack of wood beginning to give under the weight, one of the support beams overhead beginning to crack fracture right up the middle.

"WOLFRAM!"

Yuuri's magic surged into life, flaring as it formed into a barrier around Wolfram just as the beam gave way right over the boy's head, slamming down onto the arched backs of several water serpents. The King was stretching out his hands, controlling the flow of water that was seeping upwards through the stones at his call. A shudder ran all the way through his body as more began to coil themselves around the support beams, their backs stretching to take the weight of the entire ceiling that was fragmenting around them.

Wolfram choked as dust lodged itself in his throat, his head lifting upwards to gaze at the beam that would have crushed him beneath its weight. Sprawled on the ground, he struggled to rise from where debris had collapsed over him slowly, slipping between the bodies of the water dragons. "Yuuri..."

"Get out of here!" Yuuri gritted out, his hands lifted to control each serpent individually, knowing that even the slightest pressure in the wrong place would knock out another support that was barely holding together as it was. A water serpent coiled itself around Wolfram ever so gently, beginning to lifted the blonde upward towards the gap that was still visible in the ceiling overhead.

"NO! YUURI!" Green eyes stared down at the King in horror, realising that he was not following him out but remaining to protect the life that was just beginning to hatch.

However, the King was no longer listening as the serpent slithered away up and out of the hole, its sinuous body easily moving out and away carrying Wolfram with it.

The first cocoon cracked apart, a tiny body beginning to pull itself free from inside, its tiny wings beating as its wide intelligent eyes focused on the King. Its antennae twitched, before it let out a tiny chirp of _'nogisu'_.

"Go." He breathed out, feeling his magic straining to support the entire structure, it was unlike anything he had ever done before, a task that for once hadn't drawn out the Demon King. "_Go_..." This was what Yuuri wanted to do, it was his own heart that made this decision to save the lives of the tiny helpless creatures that had had the misfortune of ending up breeding in a place that could not support them.

Several more tiny winged bears joined the first, their tiny bodies snuggling close to his own, refusing to leave him.

"Please... go."

One after another as the supports gave way and the weight increased on the supports he had weaved, the bears hatched out and practically swarmed around him, their tiny bodies shielding his own from the falling debris. Their little voices whispering against his skin, their own magic weaving through his own, giving him their strength and... _love_.

"Yuuri!"

Yuuri's eyes widened at the sight of Conrart before him, the man crouched down, his arm shielding his face from the splinters of wood that rained down over them. "No...! Conrart!"

"I'm not leaving you alone." The man responded. "I promised I would always be at your side when you needed me."

His mouth opened to say something, anything that would send the man to safety, but instead strong arms wrapped around his body, drawing him into the shelter of Conrart's own. The winged bears swarming both of them in a living shield, their voices becoming louder in response to the sparks of magic that shimmered between Yuuri and Conrart.

"My silly Love." Conrart whispered, tucking Yuuri's head against his throat, fingers sliding into the dark hair.

His silver-brown eyes sparked for a moment at the sight of the largest of the cocoons splitting open as a massive Bearbee suddenly erupted from it. Its wings beating furiously, immediately realising the threat to them all. A sudden burst of wind whipped around the feet of the giant, stirring up dust and debris before buoying up the Bearbee's wings, allowing them to unfurl completely from its back, actually lifting it into the air, urging it on.

Its massive frame immediately surged upwards in a burst of speed, body puncturing through the crumbling roof, sending it crashing to either side of it and allowing the Bearbees to carry both Conrart and Yuuri upwards and to safety with them.

Both suddenly spilled out onto the grass, Conrart wrapping himself protectively around Yuuri's body, arms holding the man close and both watched as the air within the walls of Covenant Castle were filled with the soft calls of _'nogisu'_! Bearbees filled the space.

With a loud crush and a whoosh of displaced air, the entire ground floor of the guest wing suddenly gave way under all the damage it had taken. A large plume of dust and debris was sent rushing into the sky, drifting around them as it settled on everything and everyone in the courtyard.

"What the hell is going on!" Gwendal roared as he moved towards Conrart, Yuuri and the soaked through Wolfram who sat in a puddle of water that had once been a water serpent. "What's with all the Bearbees?" His words which had been sharp and angry now became quite distracted as the man's cheek was licked by one rather affectionate little scamp who fluttered close to Gwendal, following him as he stalked towards the trio.

"Why is it... no matter where you go, you always find trouble?" Conrart let out a laugh as he gazed down at the dirt smudged face of his beloved, shaking his head and not being able to find any anger in him as he gazed into the man's wide obsidian eyes. Using the edge of his still clean sleeve to attempt to rub at the worst of Yuuri's smudges, he blinked towards the blushing Gwendal whom became the new target of the warming Bearbees and the fuming, but quite soaked Wolfram. A bubble of laughter escaped him at the insanity that sometimes filled their lives.

"And you always get me out of it again." Yuuri gave his chuckling lover a wry little grin.

"And I always will." Conrart assured him.

* * *

><p><strong>Gwendal will probably yell at all of them later, after he escapes the Bearbees... XD I hope you liked this slightly insane chapter. Welcome to the world of slightly zany things! BUTTTTTTTT DRAGONS and Alford! YAAY I've been dying to do episode 19 and 20! I can't believe how long this story is! Its almost going to be 140 000 words! WOW XD that is insane. Thankyou all for so many reviews! I woke up to eight reviews this morning! It was WONDERFUL! <strong>


	19. Part 19: Valley Of Dragons

**Author's note: Hope you enjoy the first half of the dragon arc! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing. **

**Drache means Dragon in German. (Or so the translator tells me!)**

* * *

><p><strong>Drache Hills, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Yuuri pushed the window open a little wider, allowing the cool mountain breeze to invade the slightly stuffy room. Leaning against the window sill, his head tipped back to follow the slope upwards, eyes drifting over the thick stands of pine and other conifers as they rose along the flanks of verdant peaks. "I'm grateful Gwendal suggested this."

"I am, as well." Conrart stretched out under the blankets, resting on his side, head propped up on one elbow. "It feels good to be away from the castle once in a while."

"It feels good to be away from the paperwork." As much as he enjoyed most of his work, sometimes he really just wanted to feel like a person again and see a little more of the kingdom he was protecting. "Well most of it." Amusement tugged at the corner of his lips, when his head tipped to the side to gaze at the pile of papers that sat on the table in the corner of the room.

Yuuri padded back towards the bed, bare feet soundless against the wood flooring, Conrart's shirt brushing slowly against his thighs with every movement. He loved the scent that always clung to the fabric, his face turning to bury his nose into the collar of it, inhaling softly and letting out a little sigh of pleasure.

"You're going to leave me shirtless at this rate." Conrart teased, his free hand reaching out to side beneath the edge of the half buttoned shirt, caressing his fingers up one thigh and to his hip, drawing Yuuri closer.

"Is that a bad thing?" The King teased softly, stretching out his own hands to slide the blanket downwards and away from said chest. The soldier sprawled onto his back again when a mouth closed around one nipple, tongue taunting it lightly and making that large hand lift from hip to thread through raven locks.

Conrart groaned softly, a low purr starting in the back of his throat as fingertips tickled down over his skin, sliding lower towards where the edge of the blanket was covering his hips and legs. A sharp gasp escaped him when those wondering hands found him, curling around his shaft and gliding upwards, his hips arching with the motion. "..._Yuuri_..."

Grinning, the blankets were tossed away and Yuuri straddled Conrart's knees, pinning his legs down as both hands caressing the aching stiffness that stood rather proudly at attention. Dipping his head down, his tongue flicked slowly around the sensitive head, lips gently beginning to close over it. Delighting at the salty taste, his head dipped down and swallowed the entire length as his throat relaxed and he began to create a hot suction around the shaft as his head lifted. One hand slipped between his lover's warm thighs and cupped his balls lightly between calloused fingers, thumb sliding back and forth over the hot, surprisingly soft skin.

Conrart's head arched back against the pillow, a choked breath being forced from his lungs, his entire body thrumming with what his lover was doing to him. Fingers clenched into the sheets beneath him, his eyes staring unfocused at the ceiling, every breath shuddering out of him as nerve endings flared hotly. Yuuri was humming low in his throat, the vibrations tickling along the underside of his length, teeth scraping against sensitive skin.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door that led out into the corridor, one that made Yuuri stop, though it was with his mouth currently full and his hair tickling across his lover's thighs and hips.

"Your Majesty, breakfast is being served downstairs." It was Gunter's voice from the other side of the door, prim and proper.

Pleasure dazed silver-brown eyes blinked down at his lover, chest heaving and met burning obsidian staring back at him, two dark brows raised as if to say _'well I can't answer, my mouth is full'_.

"Majesty?" Gunter's tone was concerned as he knocked a little more loudly on the door. "Are you alright?" The doorhandle creaked a little, twisting slightly.

Yuuri went right back to what he had started, promptly ignoring Gunter in favour of something that might qualify also as 'breakfast'. Nipping at the tip, he almost got himself a strangled whimper from Conrart, the man desperate to keep himself quiet...

"Majesty!"

"We'll be..." Conrart's voice was almost cracking, though he was completely breathless. One hand curled into the dark mane, his hips starting to buck a little into that mouth, the slick heat leaving him almost trembling with the force of everything running through him. "We'll be down shortly, Gunter."

"As you wish."

The creak of the floorboards in the hall showing that Gunter was moving away.

Fingers squeezed around Conrart's balls, that mouth sliding all the way down and swallowing around him, muscles working only its length. Conrart came hard against the back of Yuuri's throat, his hoarse cry muffled by the pillow he pressed his face into. His entire body convulsed helplessly, spilling himself into that eager mouth. Sagging back into the sheets, the half-breed panted desperately for air, body trembling a little with the aftershocks.

Yuuri slowly lifted his head, nuzzling the wrist of the hand still clutching his hair, lips dropping a kiss just there. Tongue brushing over his lips, he smiled like a cat who had just gotten a lot of cream.

"_Yuuri_..." Conrart hissed out as he watched his errant lover slip from the bed and swagger across the floor to his clothes, looking quite pleased with himself, while he struggled to even breath properly after what had been done to him. "That was..."

"Fun." The King grinned, sliding the shirt up over his head and standing there completely naked for Conrart's appreciative gaze before turning around, and bending over to find his pants which had slid to the floor, presenting his lover with quite the view.

"Damn it... _Yuu_."

"As much as I would love to stare at your beautiful _naked_ body all day." The man glanced over his shoulder, catching Conrart staring at his rear and smirked. "We both need to go eat breakfast and see what's going on today."

"You're going to be the death of me." The man groaned.

"At least that would be a pleasurable way to go." Yuuri called back over one shoulder, already buckling on his sword belt and retrieving the Demon Sword who was 'hooting' away softly in the locked bathroom. Sliding the sheath carrying Morgif over his back, he settled his normal blade a little lower on his hip. "Morgif, if you keep that up, I'll leave you wrapped up with the travel blankets."

Morgif gave out another 'hoot', before Yuuri was slipping out through the doorway and leaving a breathless Conrart behind staring at the door they had just gone through.

"Damn, I love that man." Conrart sighed with a smile.

* * *

><p><strong>Entrance To The Valley Of The Dragons, Drache Hills, The <strong>**Great Demon Kingdom**

Yuuri's fingers lightly touched against the edges of the rope, lifting it slowly to eye level as he couched and noticed the fact that the edges weren't frayed from wear but had been neatly sliced through. A frown touched his lips while he listened to both Conrart and Gunter discussing the fact that several of the traps had been recently sprung and disarmed like this one. It was clear that the poachers had indeed managed to penetrate deeply into the forests set aside for the rare and endangered dragon.

The thought of a dragon still brought a smile to Yuuri's lips, the fact that there were such things amazed him, even after all he had seen after coming to the Great Demon Kingdom. It had been Conrart's suggestion to Gunter to add a visit to the Valley of the Dragons to their inspection schedule, something Yuuri was grateful for.

"Con, do you think you can track them?" His obsidian eyes met the clear cinnamon of his husband's, his expression troubled and his lips pressing together.

"Your Majesty... I don't think it's appropriate for you to risk your safety going after poachers."

"Gunter." Straightening, he let out a soft sigh, rubbing a hand back through his wind tussled hair. "By the time we return to the village and alert them to the poachers' presence up here, it will more than likely be too late to catch up to them. From what I can tell, these tracks and the cut ropes are still very fresh. We might just be able to catch up to them because both of you are familiar not only with this terrain, but also with the traps and they aren't."

"But..."

"Don't try to argue with him, Gunter." Wolfram huffed out softly, the blonde rolling his eyes as he gazed at their King who was actually dressed in knee high riding boots and black and gold form fitting uniform. The man looked the part, though Morgif just detracted from the nobility with all his 'hooting' and 'arrrrrrrh'. "He's stubborn as a mule."

"_Lovely_." Yuuri quipped, but shrugged it off and tipped his head towards Conrart. "Conrart?"

"Yuuri has a point, it is quite possible they will evade us if we head back to the village now." A slight nod and a small smile, Conrart lightly squeezed his lover's shoulder, grateful though that if he had protested about the King's decision, he would have backed down and listened to his reasoning. However, Yuuri was not a man to always be protected and Conrart knew just how much things like this mattered to Yuuri, moments where he could act like any other man and protect things in his kingdom with his own sword and skill.

"As your Majesty wishes." Gunter gave in and gestured in the direction that they would need to take to track down the Poachers. "This way."

* * *

><p><strong>The Valley Of The Dragons, Drache Hills, The <strong>**Great Demon Kingdom**

The gentle rush of the stream cascading down over smooth worn stones made him smile, back resting against Conrart's chest as they sat beneath a tree sharing several sandwiches as they had stopped for a few minutes to rest themselves after the hike up the steep mountain trail and also to rest for lunch. Yuuri laughed softly when Conrart offered him a piece from between his fingers, the King leaning forwards to nibble at it before he lightly caught one of his lover's fingers and licked the sensitive pad ever so lightly.

"Do you two ever stop?" Wolfram huffed softly from where he watched Conrart and Yuuri with amused exasperation. "Gwendal is right, you are both incorrigible."

"I don't see any reason to stop." The King grinned, lifting his free hand and stroking his fingertips down against Conrart's jaw softly, hearing the soft rasp of stubble on his skin. "I think you'll be worse than us when you eventually find yourself hitched."

"...Hitched?" Blonde brows lifted slightly at the familiar word used in an odd context.

"Married."

Conrart chuckled softly at that, both of them watching amusedly while Wolfram was going from a soft pink to a bright vivid red that spread along his cheeks and all the way up to his ears at the suggestion.

However, from one side of them, there was a rather loud choking sound, Gunter's lavender eyes wide and he stared at Conrart and Yuuri with shock and couldn't seem to force down what was in his mouth.

"Gunter!" Yuuri blinked in shock, before scooting forwards on his knees and slapping the man on the back, forcing him to cough up the piece of jerky that had logged in his throat. The King rubbed a hand down over his Aide's spine, worry filling his expression as Gunter continued to half choke for several moments. "Are you alright?"

"Married...?" It was a startled rasp.

"Ah..."

Conrart was soon crouching down on the other side of Gunter, sharing a troubled look with Yuuri, before shrugging slightly. "Yuuri and I are married."

"When... how? Where?" Horror and panic seemed to set in after a moment. "Sire, why wasn't I informed? The ceremony...! The guests!"

"Calm _down_." Yuuri's voice was sharp, the King's obsidian gaze narrowing sharply on Gunter's own and held it. "You will calm yourself, Lord Von Christ."

The order had an immediate effect thankfully enough.

"We got married on Vandavia Island. It was in a pledging ceremony, we have all the documentation, Gunter." Yuuri sighed, pressing his lips together and knowing that the reaction could have been worse from Gunter. "We wished to marry because of our feelings towards one another before we married because of my own actions..." The fingers of his right hand curled a little, remembering the feeling of Conrart's skin when he had struck the man. "We will be marrying in the Demon Tribe tradition in the ceremony that you are arranging."

"Why did you not inform me?"

"It was... a private thing... It was only by chance Wolfram and Gwendal found out about it..."

"I do not know quite what to say, Majesty." The man sat there, staring down at the sandwiches in his hand.

"It's not personal, Gunter. I hope you can understand that... I respect you a great deal and I consider you a friend... but this..." Shaking his head slightly, he let out a long sigh, his fingers rubbing over his face, but soon felt Conrart's hands close over the backs of his own, stilling them and drawing them to his lips softly.

"You did it for me, that is why." Conrart's words were soft, but the two pure blooded Tribesmen could hear him. "You wanted me to know that no matter what happened, we married because our love and for no other reason than that."

"Yes."

"Sire... I..." Gunter watched the two men, his expression softening with understanding and offered them both a warm smile, one that was a little frayed around the edges, but genuine. "I would have liked to know, but I do understand."

Conrart offered Gunter an apologetic smile, though his eyes were on Yuuri as the man moved away from them and towards the clear stream.

* * *

><p>Yuuri gazed out along the length of the steep sided valley that weaved its way up through the Drache Hills, the distant sound of rushing water adding to the strange magic of the vista. Sometimes it shocked him to see so much wilderness, to see the untouched patches of forest that covered large tracks of the Great Demon Kingdom. Even after the months he had spent in this world, sometimes he just couldn't help the surprise that filled him at such unrivalled natural beauty that surrounded him. Technology was no longer a part of his life, or at least wasn't a major part of it. The only technology he had seen was those Anissina developed.<p>

"What are you thinking about, Love?" Conrart questioned softly as he moved to stand beside his husband, reaching out to brush his fingers tenderly against Yuuri's.

"Just how different the two worlds are from each other." His brows drew together for a moment and he shook his head a little, wishing he could accurately describe the feeling. "Sometimes I expect to see a car driven by me... or someone on a bicycle... or even a mobile phone." He almost wanted to laugh at the strangeness of the moment. "I think about the movies I wouldn't mind seeing again... television shows I used to watch and I realise no one would quite understand if I described them... there is no point of reference." Shifting to lean against Conrart's side, he just looked up at the mountains, not quite seeing them. "But you do."

"It was... quite shocking." Conrart agreed thoughtfully. "I did not take it half as well as you have, Love."

"For all that I have accepted this world as my home, I cannot help but miss things... and people. There is always a part of me that will keep looking for those things around every corner."

Arms slowly sliding around Yuuri, he drew the man into his embrace, his face tipping down to nuzzle against Yuuri's throat for a moment, dropping a soft kiss just beneath his ear. "Do you regret it?"

"Not for a moment." Head tipping back to press against Conrart's broad shoulder, he smooth down the wild locks of hair that tickled his cheek. "I may miss it... but I can live without... what I can't live without is you." His voice was barely above a whisper, his fingers twining for a moment with Conrart's again, before slowly drawing away from his lover's arms. "You are a part of me, the other half of my soul."

Lightly touching a finger to his lips, he brushed it against Conrart's before stepping away as Gunter and Wolfram moved up to join them. "Anything I should be aware of, Gunter?"

"We must not incite the dragons." Gunter informed Yuuri, gesturing with the sweep of one arm to the steep sided valley rising before them. "Especially as this is their breeding season and it is more than likely they have young present in any nests we might discover. Dragons, though not normally aggressive, can be particularly vicious towards anyone that approaches their offspring.

"Let's continue on."

They were soon moving up single file along the sheer path that had been etched over time into the rock faces of the valley, it was amazing that someone had been able to scale this path at all before it had been hacked away by earlier members of the Demon Tribe sent to patrol and protect this area before the traps had been set in place as protection.

Everyone was moving ahead of Yuuri, the King still a little uncertain of his footing at times and took longer to scale such cliffs. Suddenly he thought he heard something, the faintest of sounds, one that made his head turn a little more sharply around as he stopped. Nothing greeted his ears other than the skitter of small stones being dislodged by their movements.

Turning back to glance upwards at the three men who were at least ten yards above him, he reached out for the next hold, but heard it again, a tiny helpless squeak of sound.

A sudden jolt of anxiety burned all the way through him and his hand touched his sword lightly at his waist. Morgif was hooting softly from beneath the cloth wrap that had been secured around him for the journey. Sometimes he wondered if Gunter had completely lost it, insisting that Morgif be brought on this particular expedition.

"Quiet." Yuuri hissed and for once Morgif actually listened to him, silencing himself and allowing Yuuri to focus on the sound.

It was there, along one of the ledges that ringed the cliff faces, just around the bend in it. His boots were soundless against the stone, while he crept forwards along it, holding his breath if he needed to, to be able to be sure that he wasn't just hearing the soft little whimper of something small and in pain.

_There_.

It was the glitter of the metal spike driven deep into the earth towards the rock slope of where the cliff rose upwards, a length of wire snaked outwards form it, vanishing into a thick cluster of bushes that blocked the other side of the ledge from view.

Immediately he was inching forwards again, only aware of those soft little sounds, ones that tore at his heart. Reaching the spike, he was lightly touching the cable, feeling the tautness of it. Dropping to his knees, his hand reached out and he pushed away several branches where the length of line disappeared into. There within the shadows of the brush lay a tiny blue scaled body, its neck entangled within the loop of the snare. Soft little noises escaped from its mouth, its eyes glazed over from lack of air into its lungs.

Carefully lifting the tiny creature from where it had crawled in an effort to hide itself from predators, he tucked it against body and shifted backwards slowly, hoping that it would help relieve the pressure around the creature's neck. Gently setting the newly hatched dragon down onto the stone beside the spike, he leaned in over it. He attempted to pull it away from the creature's body, but it was locked into place by several fine metal mechanisms that prevented it from loosening.

His attention immediately turned to the spike imbedded deeply into the rock. Reaching down to wrap both hands, he hooked his hands just beneath the head of it and was about to pull upwards when the razor sharp edges of the head slide into his hands as he drew back with all his weight to draw it loose. A yelp of pain escaped his lips, dark red blood spattering the earth as he stared down at the trembling creature and at his hands.

"I can't leave you." And he couldn't, it wasn't in his heart, the King could not draw away long enough to call to the others of his party and raising his voice might draw the attention of the parent which would more than likely be close. Yuuri Shibuya Weller wanted to curse himself for his own stupidity... but nothing could be done about that right then.

There was only one thing he could think of, his head lifted glancing around and not being able to spot the large body of the parent. Nothing.

Reaching out to lift one of the loose stones from nearby, slipping the thing so that the long flat surface rested just beneath where the wire was 'knotted'. The King prayed that the little thing wouldn't stir enough to move it. Resting on his knees he drew out his sword, the blade sliding out from within its sheath.

A tiny eye opened to gaze up at him, the little muzzle opening and a helpless little sound escaping. His hand brushed lightly against its head, feeling the surprisingly cool scales beneath his palm. "Just one minute, Little One."

And the blade swung downwards in a two handed grip, just as a massive dark body descended on him with a roar and flash of white fangs as its jaws opened wide. The edge of the blade struck the wire and stone, splitting it apart with a resounding twang, the length of suddenly released wire springing backwards the infant dragon rolling free and letting out a tiny little sound as it's little lungs fully inflated.

Yuuri stared into the burning crimson eyes of the massive dark charcoal grey dragon that had perched itself on the edge of their ledge, trapping him between its body and the stone of the cliff. His sword immediately dropped from his blood slicked hands, his arms immediately coiling around the body of the infant protectively. He didn't know if this adult was the infant's parent... it could be likely it was a rival individual and after the life of the infant.

His body jerked backwards, slamming against the cliff, palm covering the back of the tiny scaled creature's neck as it rested against his chest, Yuuri desperate to revive the infant, anything to know it was still going to live. Healing magic flared brightly, the tiny sparks sliding over blue scales, the deep wound slowly beginning to close. Tiny whimpers escaped the infant, its body actually snuggling close to his, drawn in by the warmth and security of the arms tightly wrapped around it.

Obsidian eyes lifted to meet brilliant crimson ones. "_Please_." It was a single word, one that pleaded with the intelligence he saw in those smouldering depths. "_Please_." His hand reached out towards the massive creature, releasing all of his fears right in that moment, his slashed palm shimmering with long horizontal lines of welling blood.

Her massive muzzled immediately lowered towards his hand, and instead of practically devouring the limb whole, a warm nose brushed against his hand, heated air sliding over his skin. His other hand slowly lifted from where it rested against the infant's resting form curled in his lap. Both palms were pressed against its muzzle, fingertips tickled by wisps of smoke.

There was a sudden rush of heat over his skin, a burning sting sliding across it and he jerked his hands away with a soft hiss, blinking back the scorching pain that ran up along his spine. The long vicious cuts that had run across both palms from where he had attempted to pull the spike free of the stone had been seared shut by the heat of the Dragon's flame.

"Yuuri!"

The King's head turned sharply to one side, seeing Conrart moving towards him, sword clear of its sheath.

Immediately the Dragon roared out a challenge, massive body suddenly moving down between Yuuri and Conrart, jaws opening wide and challenging the half-breed. Smoke coiled up from its nostrils as it gave another low threatening snarl in the back of its throat, clearly ready to defend both its child and the King who was tucking the small wounded infant against his chest and rescued his sword from where he had dropped it earlier.

"No! He's my mate!" His voice rose above the snarls of the massive reptile.

"Yuuri!" Conrart was shifting forwards, meeting the dragon without fear, his eyes blazing white hot silver. "Move back away from the dragon..."

"She won't hurt me!" Yuuri was already moving forwards around one massive hindquarter, one hand reaching out to brush along the surprisingly hot scales, attempting to ease the mother's concern. "Please, Con, put your sword away."

"_Love_..."

"Trust me." And Yuuri was soon squeezing past the dragon's wing which was attempting to push him backwards and into safety behind her once more. "She just wants to protect me and her child."

Surprise flickered over Conrart's face as he watched as Yuuri appeared before him cradling a young dragon against one shoulder, looking a little the worse for wear, but unharmed. "How... did you?" His surprise grew when the adult female dipped her head and nosed at Yuuri, clearly attempting to urge him back to safety. "You're unbelievable." Blade sliding back into its sheath, he shook his head in wonder, wishing he knew exactly how to describe his beloved's ability to charm just about anyone. "Your talents are truly a mystery."

The female was finally beginning to settle, her crimson streaked eyes slowly beginning to swirl with colour, like Conrart's did at times like this to become large indigo pools. Her muzzle nudged against Yuuri's side lightly, nuzzling him in something close to affection.

"Majesty!" Gunter was only a few steps behind Conrart, coming to a stop as he watched the entire scene with awe. "Excellent, your Majesty! You have captured the hearts of even the fiercest of dragons. Well done."

"The cost of that... was too high." Yuuri whispered in response, shifting the weight of the infant against his chest, one hand pressed against his back, feeling the little heart pounding under his palm. Pain shot up through him, but he ignored it for the moment, knowing he needed time to heal the wounds to the infant and also to move it away from this area where someone had set up snares to trap it. "We need to get this infant to safety... he was caught in a snare."

Abruptly the dragon's head whipped upwards, eyes flaring a brilliant red as its tail knocked lightly against Yuuri's knees, sending the King down onto his rear, clutching the infant in his grip as she backed up and shielded him with her body as she let out a roar of challenge to the man who had launched himself off the cliff above.

A long sword glittered in the bright sunshine, flashing as it was coming down in an arch towards the mother's head as the man practically hurtled towards them. The adult reared back as the man landed, forepaws sweeping out and almost clipping the human.

Conrart was in front of Yuuri, his larger body protecting not only his husband, but also the infant that was still struggling to breath in Yuuri's arms. The half-breed bared his own teeth in a silent warning, his blade catching the light as it slipped free from its scabbard.

"Con." Yuuri breathed out his lover's nickname, his expression concerned while he took in the fact that the poachers had come upon them, trapping them all in a position that was not advantageous to them.

Aquamarine eyes glinted as they turned towards Yuuri, widening ever so slightly at the sight of the dirt streaked King, taking in the obsidian eyes and long mane of raven hair that framed the pale and drawn features of the Demon King. "Can it be?" There was true shock in the man's tone as he looked straight into obsidian eyes. "Black eyes and black hair. Demon King!"

"How could you?" Obsidian eyes shimmered with a soul deep pain, one that was surging up through him from the innocent life that had almost been extinguished all because of selfish greed. He swayed a bit on his feet, using all that was within him to keep the infant alive, feeling its lungs continue to fight to draw in enough air, its fragile body trembling in his grip. "How could you do this?"

There was a burst of brilliant crimson light from behind him as the three other members of the poacher's band challenged Wolfram and Gunter on the wider part of the ledge beyond where the dragon was snarling. The beast had turned around, going for the other three attackers with a vengeance, knowing that the King himself would not allow anything to happen to the infant. The air filled with the hiss of magic and the uncoiling flames of Wolfram's magic.

Yet, to Yuuri's ears everything sounded far away , his eyes staring at the sword that the man before them held, feeling the magic that thrummed within it... bright and pure. _Why_? Why would this man whom wielded a sword of such purity wish to harm a harmless infant dragon, one that could not defend itself.

"Upon this holy sword, I swear to defeat the Demon King, the source of all that is evil. I won't let this unforseen opportunity go to waste. Prepare to die, Monster!"

"You dare insult him, _human_?"

Yuuri blinked, his head lifting a little again, gazing at Conrart's back, confused by the sound of the voice that had come from his lover. However, he could feel it, the dark sparks of rage burning within Conrart Weller, the force of something trying to come to the surface from within the man.

With a roar that would rival that of the dragon, which was currently going after the other poachers with waves of red hot flame, Conrart charged the man. Blade flashing and meeting the holy sword with such force that it sent the human staggering back. White hot rage boiled over inside of Conrart that someone would claim that his Yuuri was a monster, there was not a man alive who had the compassion that Yuuri had for everyone and everything around him.

The human was attempting to block the blows that came swift and hard, his eyes widening as he stared into the face of a predator, one that had just unleashed its claws. The two moved together, the human staggering, arms screaming as powerful blows almost knocked him to the ground, the half-breed not pulling his moves.

"Conrart!"

The swordsman was pouring out months worth of impotent fury into the battle, all the times that he had been leashed and forced to watch as Yuuri was hurt by those around him. _No more._ He would not stand back again and watch the one he loved be hurt by someone whom could not see the joy that Yuuri could bring to the world with just his presence.

The human's holy sword was suddenly struck from his hands, and was sent spinning to embed itself into the solid stone of the cliff face rising over the ledge. Conrart's blade lifted over his head, his eyes blazing down at the man who would have put that sword through Yuuri's heart. He hesitated, staring into the wide aqua eyes of the human, seeing something within them that gave him pause.

Suddenly an arm wrapped around his waist, warmth spreading across his back as Yuuri pressed himself against Conrart. "No more death..." Yuuri whispered softly against the back of Conrart's shoulder, burying his face against it. "Please. No more... there has been too much suffering today. Too much... pain."

Conrart's silvery eyes narrowed on the human's face. "Remember this, _human_. He has spared your life this day when you would have killed him in return for doing _nothing_ to harm you."

It was only then that they realised the battle was over... the other three poachers having fled into the trees.

* * *

><p>The King was carefully pressing his hands against the tiny curled up body of the infant that had been settled by the fire. The faint silvery green magic shimmered beneath his palms as he was urging more of it to slowly sink into the little body, attempting to ease its pain as much as he possibly could. He could still sense the adult hovering nearby, hidden amongst the forest trees and guarding them against the poachers and other creatures as night began to slowly fall over the valley.<p>

The soft crunch of dried twigs and rustle of brush heralded the return of Wolfram and Conrart, as they set down piles of dried wood and small logs close to the fire that they could feed it throughout the night.

Soundlessly Conrart dropped to his knees beside Yuuri, one large hand reaching out to smooth back the dark strands away from his face, dropping a kiss against his temple. "Enough now, Love."

"But..." Yuuri was about to protest, but the words died on his lips at the concerned look on Conrart's face. He reluctantly pulled his hands away, wincing as his fingers curled slightly, palms burning from the new scars that he had been given.

One large hand curved around Yuuri's own, lifting it slowly upwards, unfurling the King's fingers and drawing the hot skin against his cooler cheek. "Always pushing yourself." Conrart sighed, strong arms gathering Yuuri up into his embrace, feeling the weakness in the man's body as he drew him closer protectively. "Wolfram and Gunter can tend to him, Love." The half-breed's eyes meet those of his younger brother who nodded slightly and was already moving towards the resting infant.

Yuuri actually let out a squeak as he was lifted upwards and was being carried around to where their bedrolls were spread out over the bare earth. The King found himself in his husband's lap, back to Conrart's chest and body easily being fitted into the warmth of his beloved's. Arms curled around either side of him, Conrart leaning forwards so that he could gaze down over his shoulder at Yuuri's newly scarred palms. A soft kiss was pressed to the side of his throat against his pulse point.

"What did you do to yourself this time?" The half-breed set to work cleaning the seared together skin, gently removing the tiny shards of metal that had lodged in them from when he had attempted to pull the spike free from the solid stone it had been pounded into.

"I... I just wanted to save him."

"I'm not angry." Conrart responded softly, having come to the conclusion after what had happened in Svelera that Yuuri would ignore his own pain if another person was injured. It showed Yuuri's dedication and love for everyone around him. It also meant that Conrart needed to capture his beloved afterwards and make sure he was fine. "How did you get burnt?"

"The dragon."

Gunter looked up at that, having been silently adding wood to the fire while Wolfram did a little healing on the young dragon. "The dragon burnt you with its flame?"

Yuuri shook his head slightly. "I had cut my hands trying to pull out the spike that had been imbedded in the rock to anchor the snare. The mother let me touch her muzzle with my hands afterwards... to see I was no threat and then... this?" His hands lifted slightly so that Gunter could see the scarred palms, though it was only then that Yuuri started to realise the pain in them had actually subsided significantly since Conrart had removed the metal shards. "I... doesn't hurt so much anymore."

"It was never meant to in the first place." Gunter dropped to one knee before them, reach out to carefully capture the King's wrist in his fingers and gently lift the hand into the light of the fire a little more. "There are legends of such things... but I did not think I would see it myself. Dragons have been known to give their oath before to the men who use to guard these mountains against humans, members of the Demon Tribe whom had shown themselves to go beyond their duties."

"Dragon oath? You lost me there..."

"It is a promise. A vow that any dragon who shall see the marks will guard the marked one from any harm. You have earned their loyalty, Sire."

"I... could barely do anything..." Shaking his head, he rested his cheek against Conrart's chest, eyes closing as he leaned into the soothing warmth, trying desperately to drown out the memory of the helpless little dragon snared like some rabbit for the slaughter.

"Easy, Love." Conrart whispered against his hair, tucking Yuuri's face into the shelter of his shoulder, feeling the small shudders of anguish rock through the man. Yuuri's soul ached with every travesty, the darker side to Yuuri's warmth and compassion. "Easy... the infant will recover. You saw to that, Beloved."

"How could they do that?" Yuuri breathed out, obsidian eyes liquid with unshed tears as they gazed up at Conrart. "How could they set traps like that...?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly. Smoothing his fingers slowly through the raven locks, he just whispered soft loving words against Yuuri's ear, drawing the man close to him and allowing him to calm down. It took time, but when he felt Yuuri relax completely against him, he knew the worst of his lover's pain had been shed silently against his chest. "But we will stop them. I promise you that."

"What... did I ever do to deserve you?" Yuuri whispered against Conrart's throat.

"You loved me."Though Conrart's lips had turned upwards at the corners as he spied the holy sword sitting where it had been left on the edge of their bedroll. He stretched out one hand for it, fingers closing around the hilt and he almost jerked back in surprise as he felt a sudden jolting tingle surge upwards through his fingertips and up his arm. Shifting his grip, he snagged it by its sheath instead, staring at the weapon with a momentary confusion before shaking his head, dismissing the reaction. "Here."

"The human is waking up." Wolfram informed them all as he folded the edges of the blanket around the tiny reptile's body, before turning his attention back to the human, a hand dropping down to rest on the hilt of his sword.

Aqua eyes slowly began to blink open, the man's entire body twitching against the tight bindings that had been lashed around him to prevent him from going anywhere. The human twisted sharply in the ropes, letting out a startled hiss at the fact that his wrists and ankles were bound and that he was at the mercy of the four Demon Tribesmen before him.

"I would suggest not struggling against them, I am quite certain they are very secure."

"You should have finished him off." Wolfram growled out, green eyes narrowing on the human with sparks of anger burning at the heart of them, tiny flames seeming to dance within their depths. "He turned a sword on you with full knowledge that you are Demon King."

"Where's my sword? I demand to know where my sword is?" The man's words were a dry rasp as he stared across the fire at them, startled by the fact that the Demon King was curled into the arms of the man who had almost ended his life. Where he had seen a predator, there was now a softly smiling soldier whom looked on in affection and warmth at the King in his embrace.

"Do not worry yourself. It is here." Yuuri responded, lifting his head from where it had dropped against Conrart's shoulder. The long holy sword rested in Yuuri's palms, the hilt in one, the blade resting on the flat of the other. The blade seemed to have absolutely no effect on Yuuri at all, other than giving him a warm tingle along his nerves as he held it.

"How can the Demon King touch a holy sword?" The man's head had lifted from the surprisingly soft blanket that rested under his head, eyes widening as he watched the man handle his blade with ease and no apparent discomfort.

"Because he's not your average Demon King." Wolfram responded, green eyes sparkling with amused exasperation. "Trust me on that."

"Yes, _Brother_." Yuuri teased, carefully sliding the sword back into its sheath and setting it aside as he stretched a little and curled a little more into Conrart's body, feeling drained and like a limp noodle. He never had realised just how much a healing like that might take out of him and it had been quite a shock. "I might not be _average_... but I think I do quite well at my duties."

"What are you going to do with me?"

"That, I still need to work out."

"Poaching is a felony." Gunter added in softly, his lavender eyes troubled as he glanced towards their King, who looked quite worn out. "He should be handed over to the proper authorities immediately."

"The infant needs to be moved somewhere safe first. I don't want to bring him down to the town... he needs to recover... I doubt his mother will take kindly to us taking him out of the valley." Yuuri shook his head and sighed as he gazed at the man, not quite knowing what to do with him. No matter the words the man had thrown in his face earlier that day, some part of him couldn't believe that this man was evil. "For now, that means you will be coming with us, Knight."

Yuuri chuckled softly when Conrart nipped lightly at his ear distracting him from his concerns. "You know... I've met a Prince..." A fingertip lightly tapped against soft lips, smiling warmly up at his beloved, his heart unclenching from the painful knot it had coiled itself into as he gazed at his beloved Conrart. "Now I've met a storybook hero." Obsidian eyes sparkled as he teased Alford silently. "Or at least someone that might be one, you do have a holy sword after all."

Alford Mackinner stared at the supposed Demon King, not quite sure what to make of the smiling man before him or the man who held him. How could this raven haired man truly be the Demon King? For all he may be a double black, he looked as helpless as a newborn foal. This man was not a warrior... but some kind of healer. What was the King doing out in the middle of nowhere?

None of this was making any sense... and it seemed none of them had been left with any of the answers.

* * *

><p><strong>Our Yuuri loves his little baby dragon! Pochi will be fine. EVERYONE GIVE HIM THEIR LOVE! Hope you enjoyed this first part! On to the next part! <strong>


	20. Part 20: Promises Broken

**Author's Note: This chapter is quite interesting indeed! The dragons will surprise you. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing! **

* * *

><p><strong>Drache Hills, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The sharp clang of metal on metal disturbed the peace of the meadow, sending several birds bursting out of nearby brush and into the air in fright. Yuuri let out a low growl as he met Conrart blow for blow, their bodies shimmering with a fine layer of sweat as they danced in the fashion of warriors. The King's body screaming with the strain when he felt Conrart release what grip he had on himself, both of them finding that place within themselves, no longer holding back in combat.

"Are you a coward?" Conrart challenged Yuuri, eyes blazing a fierce silver, when his blade almost severed Yuuri's head clean off his shoulders. "You can do better than _this_." The older of the two half-breed taunted him, smirking a little as he knew the words always had the desired effect on the King, both of them truly letting themselves enjoy and feel the thrill of this battle that challenged both.

Yuuri let out a snarl of his own, going after Conrart again, only feeling his sword vibrate in his hands, knowing it had almost been knocked from his grip. His response was to come back doubly as fierce, going after every weakness he could find in Conrart's defences.

"Step into it." The older man snapped. "_Focus_."

Neither man was aware that they were gaining an audience, the sounds of the battle waking Gunter where he slept near the dying embers of the fire. Gunter's lavender eyes widened at the fact that he realised that the pair were not pulling their swings, he realised that either man was quite capable of killing the other. Hurriedly getting to his feet, he hurried across the dew dampened ground towards them.

"_FOCUS_!" Conrart hissed out, feeling Yuuri weaken just for a moment, using that momentary weakness to pound into the smaller man, going after him with everything he had. His leg caught Yuuri's ankles, for once knocking them out from under him as his sword came down, sending the metal blade spinning out of Yuuri's grasp. "Weakness won't be tolerated."

Conrart's blade lifted, aiming straight for Yuuri's neck, the downward swing would take it clean off his shoulders as the King was on his knees.

"MAJESTY!" Gunter was drawing his own blade, running head long towards them but knowing he wouldn't make it. "CONRART STOP THIS!"

Magic surged like a wave upwards inside of Yuuri, his empty hands suddenly been filled by the elemental water blade, feeling it met the one that was descending towards his neck with only inches to spare. One palm swept towards Gunter, suddenly knocking the man back with a shimmering water barrier. However, he went after Conrart with a vengeance, the two of them truly going after each other, barely missing each other by a hair's breadth.

Their fight was something to witness, Gunter watching on from where he had fallen to the ground, his lavender eyes staring at the transformation in the two men, almost unable to believe what he saw. Their King was a _warrior_, a man who could truly challenge Conrart Weller in a duel, but it was the blade forged from water that made him start in surprise. He had never seen anything like it. It was like some kind of dance, the two men anticipating each other's moves, knowing the weaknesses of the other instinctively.

Conrart caught Yuuri hard to the side with the flat of his blade, sending the man to the ground, the water blade dissolving, in a rain of water droplets. Yuuri lay there panting hard, his entire body covered in sweat and trembling with exhaustion, but when he tipped his head up to gaze at Conrart he was smiling.

Gunter stood frozen at the sight, watching Conrart drop down onto his knees and gently help the King to his feet, both arms wrapping around the smaller man and supporting him as he swayed slightly.

"That was a significant improvement from yesterday." Conrart pressed a soft kiss against Yuuri's forehead, one hand lightly brushing back the sweat dampened hair from the King's face. "You managed to hold it for longer, however, it is still dissolving when you are struck, we need to work on that."

"As you say." Yuuri dropped his forehead to rest against Conrart's chest, entire body heaving with exhaustion and the effort to draw in enough air into his starving lungs.

"What in Shinou's name _were you doing_, Conrart?" Gunter strode forwards then, his eyes fixed on the half-breed. "That was no training duel, you endangered the life of his Majesty with your over-eagerness for battle."

"Actually it was training." Yuuri finally managed to step away from Conrart, though he felt his husband's hand at the small of his back, supporting him and keeping him on his feet. The King stepped in front of Conrart, obsidian eyes meeting those of Gunter, his jaw set for one long moment, his smile fading away completely. "That is how we train, Lord Von Christ. _Every_ morning. I need it."

"You... _what_...? Sire... He could have killed you."

"My magic is still uncontrollable at the best of times, I have to learn to control it... control myself. Conrart knows how much I can handle and he's willing to push me when others would not because of my position." Shaking his head slightly, he rubbed his forearm over his face, brushing away the sweat which was dripping into his eyes. "You might believe he could hurt me, it might look that way to someone watching but... I have faith in him. I trust him implicitly with my life."

"But..."

"Trust me, Gunter, I was in no true danger." The King reached down and picked up a clean shirt and pair of pants from a nearby rock and resheathed his sword into its scabbard. "If you don't mind, I'm in need of a bath." Moving past his husband, he reached out and caressed the lightly stubbled jaw, a kiss being pressed against his Adam's apple, feeling it bob slightly in response to his words. "Join me, my Prince, when you are ready." Yuuri sauntered away, clearly comfortable in his own skin and unaffected by the battle other than to look worn out.

"_Conrart_." Gunter stood before his greatest student, staring into the silver eyes that were slowly beginning to swirl and return to their normal cinnamon hue as the energy of the battle seeped out of Conrart. "What is going on? His Majesty... what he just did?"

"I can offer no explanations." The man shrugged slightly, before picking up his own clean change of clothes, his lips pressed together slightly. "Yuuri is a superb swordsman, Gunter. I am fortunate enough that he will allow me to train him as I do. His newest abilities are unusual... but I know how to trigger his responses. I learned early on that Yuuri Shibuya Weller is not a man to be coddled and hidden away like many other Kings that have come before him. He needs _this_. Gunter. He needs to feel useful..."

"How so?"

"If you were stripped of your duties, Lord Von Christ, if you had your sword taken from you and you were confined to the care of a hundred guards. If your every movement needed to be accounted for. If you couldn't protect those important to you because people say 'it's too dangerous'. If you were reduced to nothing more than a figure elevated above everything and everyone with the expectations that come with it... if you could never be yourself..."

Lord Von Christ jolted back slightly at that, staring into Conrart's eyes and beginning to realise the weight that did press down on their King. Also... the fact that Yuuri had given up his very freedom to serve their people and act as their King when he had no obligation to. "I..." Gunter swallowed roughly, his fingers curling and uncurling by his sides.

"It's easy to forget, Gunter, that Yuuri is just a man too, in addition to being our King." Letting out a long slow breath, his fingers lightly rubbed at one temple softly. "For all his joy, Gunter. For all the compassion and love he feels for all those around him... his agony when he sees the suffering around him... it almost tears him apart. He needs things like this, times like these he can fight as we all do against that darkness... to push it back and to look back and know that he has done something with his own two hands to change the world he lives in."

Gunter could only stare at Conrart's retreating back, feeling as if the wind had been knocked right out of his sails.

* * *

><p>Yuuri laughed softly as his mouth closed around the tips of Conrart's fingers, obsidian eyes sparkling with joy once more as Conrart continued to feed him slowly. Giving them a seductive little lick, he finally pulled back, lips turning upwards in a bright smile that swept away the anguish that had been etched into his features the night before. The little dragon was curled in Yuuri's lap, eating small bits of jerky that Yuuri had cut up earlier, its little snout nuzzling his palm, letting out soft little sounds of happiness when another piece of meat was offered to it.<p>

"He's recovering well." Wolfram murmured, a smile touching his own lips at the rapid improvement the Dragon had shown since early that morning when Yuuri had again infused it with healing magic. "You do have quite a gift, Sire."

"One I am definitely grateful for." His body ached wonderfully, even though he had not been able to enjoy the usual 'morning' exercises that he and Conrart usually enjoyed because of Wolfram and Gunter, they had had a good sparring session and it always put him in a good mood. "Still hungry, Pochi?" Fingertips tickled lightly behind the little dragon's horns were the scales were soft, hearing the soft squeaking purr of the infant's response to the touch.

"What kind of name is Pochi for a dragon?"

"_Hey_. I thought it suited him." Yuuri chuckled softly, feeding the youngster a little more meat, before its eyes began to drift closed and it dropped back into sleep in his lap.

"This is impossible!"

The voice made both Yuuri and Wolfram turn to face the human who was still bound on the other side of the fire and watching them with those intense aqua eyes.

"This is a trick. The real Demon King would not act as you do." The man's expression tightened with darker thoughts, shadows drifting through those oceanic eyes. "The Demon King is an atrocious, cold-blooded fiend, evil and darkness personified, the embodiment of immorality set on the destruction of the human world."

"Embodiment of immorality?" Both raven brows shot upwards at that and he almost wanted to laugh.

"The only immoral action this man is guilty of is doing _it_ in public places."

Yuuri snorted softly, but grinned as he gazed at Conrart with affection, they did seem to get a little carried away sometimes and sparring usually had a rather interesting affect on both of them...

"It?" The human rasped softly, confused for a moment.

"Let's just say... leave my Brother with the King for more than five minutes on their own and well..." Wolfram's cheeks flushed slightly, knowing that he had heard a little more than he wanted to of the King and his Prince to last him a life time.

Aqua orbs blinked once, then widened suddenly with realisation and a fine flush actually spread across the human's cheeks.

"I don't want to destroy anyone." Yuuri remarked as he stroked his hand down over the young dragon's back, fingers touching the scars running around its neck which would most likely remain with the youngster for the rest of its life. "I don't know where you get these misconceptions from. What is your name?"

"Alford Mackinner."

"Very heroic sounding." Yuuri mused a little, holding on to his good mood with all of his grip, not wanting to believe this man had anything to do with the snare. There was something in his eyes, something in the way he spoke that told Yuuri everything wasn't as it seemed. "Well, Alford, my name is Yuuri Shibuya Weller." Tipping his head slightly, he glanced towards a smiling Conrart. "This is my husband, Conrart Weller, his younger brother Lord Wolfram Von Bielefeld and my aide, Gunter Von Christ."

Pochi let out a little snort of smoke, the little dragon turning over in Yuuri's lap and exposing its paler belly scales to the King, who obediently began scratching lightly across them with his nails, watching one leg twitch slightly like a contented puppy at the attention.

"Why were you poaching dragons, Alford?"

"How dare you insult me like this!" The man responded angrily to the assumption that he was a poacher.

"You trespassed onto private land without permission, you targeted a dragon, which is an endangered species. That is the very definition of poaching."

Alford looked shocked by those words, his eyes widening as he stared at Gunter.

"Perhaps this man had his reasons for doing so?" Conrart added thoughtfully, shifting to sit closer to Yuuri, one arm sliding around the King and drawing him closer against his body.

"Reasons? There is no reason other than profiteering..."

"You're wrong!"

"Wrong?" Lavender eyes narrowed on the human, Gunter's mouth set in a grim line. "Oh, very well then, explain yourself."

"I'll explain nothing, I'm under no obligation to tell you people anything."

"Then if you will not explain it to us, explain it to this _infant_." The obsidian gaze of the King flashed with anger, his hands carefully lifting the curled dragon from where it rested in his lap so that Alford could see the long circular scar that had formed around the dragon's throat. Gently settling it back into his lap, he lifted both hands upwards, palms to the man, the straight lines running across both palms visible in the morning sunlight. "If you are not a poacher, than why did you use _snares_ near the nest? You used a razor peg to hold the snare line. Can you look me in the eye and say you do not know about the snares? That such barbarity and cruelty was necessary for your 'mission'?"

"I..." Horror flickered across Alford's face as he stared at the evidence of what the King spoke about. "I did not know about the snares. However... I was desperate. I needed desperately to get the heart of a dragon... to become a man worthy of wielding a holy sword inherited from my father." Alford swallowed, knowing that these people deserved answers. "I had been travelling alone for a long while. When I arrived at a certain village, I was approached by three strangers."

And Alford related to the four Demon Tribesmen the conversation that had ensued after that initial meeting, about the quest to cure an ill child with a potion made with the heart of a dragon. All he had wanted to truly do was save that child's life.

"All you wished to do was help." Yuuri's compassion was reflected in his dark eyes, his expression softening as he gazed down at the man resting on the ground before him. "However, from what I have learned from Gisela, a cure made from the heart of a dragon would do nothing for such a child. There is no magical properties to that type of heart that could act in the way you have described."

"His Majesty is correct, that is an old wives' tale, one I'm surprised humans would still believe." Gunter nodded slightly at Yuuri's conclusion, beginning to relax as it became apparent exactly what had happened with this man when he had met up with the other three they had fought the day before.

"There are other reasons to hunt a dragon." The half-breed added softly. "Its commonly known that weapons and tools crafted from dragon scales and horns are in great demand and fetch a high price on the black market. Alford's holy sword is a good example of such a weapon, the blade having been forged from a dragon's tusk several hundred years ago and fortified by the blood of dragons."

Morgif decided then to make his presence known, hooting in encouragement when he was lifted upwards and Yuuri stared into the face on the hilt of the Demon Sword.

"You never truly realise what something is until you know its history." Yuuri's expression showed his dismay at learning the history of Alford's blade. "However," The King sighed as Morgif continued to let out varying sounds of amusement as he pulled faces at Yuuri. "This sword is frightening in a significantly different way."

"Because of their value, dragons were hunted to the brink of extinction, it was only through the Tribe's intervention that any still exist today."

"The esoteric master we faced yesterday, more than likely planned to kill the dragon, using the infant as bait to keep it in one place long enough to kill it. Then sell its scales and horns for a hefty price."

Alfords entire body drooped, his eyes staring at the ground as the full weight of realisation struck him, his horror obvious to them all. "So that would mean... that I was..."

"That's right. To sum it up, you were duped by them rather spectacularly."

"_Wolfram_." The King's tone was sharp and biting, making the blonde jerk sharply at the anger in that tone. However, his anger wasn't truly directed at Wolfram, but at the world around them for preying upon a man who only wished to help the innocent. "We do not need your sense of superiority clouding this matter."

The infant was carefully set aside beside Morgif as the King rose to his feet, his hand curling around the hilt of his blade before sliding it free from its sheath. The weapon glinting in the bright sunlight, before he was moving around behind Alford, watching as the man tensed sharply, sensing something significant was about to happen but didn't know whether it would be the end of his own life or...

Aqua eyes closed for a moment, preparing himself for the sharp pain of penetration of the metal sliding into his flesh when... his bonds suddenly slackened as there was a whisper of metal sliding through rope, the length of it unfurling as the movement was repeated with those binding his ankles.

"Do not make me regret my choices of yesterday and today, Alford Mackinner. You will still need to answer for your crimes in trespassing onto our territories and also reparations to the villagers for attempting to harm the dragons."

"And if you ever threaten life of the King again." Conrart's cinnamon eyes narrowed on the man, jaw clenching tightly. "Understand that in that moment you forfeit your own."

"You are my Prince, aren't you?" Yuuri praised Conrart softly, dropping to one knee beside his husband and reaching out with a single finger to lightly tip the man's head up to kiss him deeply. "Always protective, always my shield from the dark."

"I strive to be." He remarked adoringly as he stared up into those dark fathomless eyes which so easily captured his very soul. "My King."

"Sappy, aren't they?" Wolfram huffed softly, rolling his eyes before offering some of the meal spread out before them to the human. "You just learn to live with it."

* * *

><p>Grass reached all the way up to their chests, tickling lightly against their legs as they practically waded through it. Pochi let out a contented little sound as it perched on Yuuri's shoulder, little wings beating lightly as it let out several puffs of heated air in a show of spirit. It warmed Yuuri to see such a thing from the youngster that had almost died the day before.<p>

"Gunter, are you certain the adult is following us?" Even though Yuuri was certain he could feel her, like a spark of heat at the edge of his magical awareness, though he wasn't certain if his senses were right.

"Yes, your Majesty, there is no need to worry yourself about that. Even when separated by long distances, dragons can pick up the scent of their offspring, they are inherently protective." Gunter was in lecture mode, quite pleased to be able to provide further information to their King during such an important occasion. "She may not be visible to us at the moment, but I am sure she is following us from a safe distance."

"That is reassuring to know."

"Nothing is okay about this." Wolfram responded, clearly not pleased by the fact that the human was travelling with them, despite the fact that he wasn't as xenophobic as he had been originally. "If we bring this guy along, they'll know the location of the new nest immediately."

"I do not believe Alford would do that." The King turned slightly, glancing back over his shoulder towards Alford, his dark gaze meeting that of the human's and seeing the change there. "Would you?"

"No... Sire." Alford managed to get out a response, swallowing hard as a spark of guilt worked its way through him, knowing that he would need to pay for the crimes he had indeed committed, even if they had been for the sake of others.

"Alright, Gunter! Let's take a rest here!" Conrart had paused and decided that it was probably best that they all attempt to rest for a little while during the hottest part of the day.

* * *

><p>"Obviously he must be a very famous swordsman." Alford spoke up as he sat beneath one of the trees, his eyes focused on Conrart where he had perched himself on a rock, long legs stretched out, resting in the shade with the holy sword propped up against his side. "The grace of his carriage is like no ordinary man... his skill with a blade..." Alford could still remember the powerful strikes, the skill involved...<p>

"In the Great Demon Kingdom, he is the number one sword master." Lips curling up into a smile, Yuuri being quite aware that Conrart was listening to every word. "I would know from personal experience just how good he is."

"He protects you well." The human conceded. "I have never seen a warrior as fierce as Lord Weller."

"How's that, Sweetheart? You're enjoying the compliments, aren't you?" Yuuri raised his voice only a touch, amusement touching the corners of his lips as he watched Alford's eyes widen and jump to where Conrart was sitting.

"A man enjoys knowing his worth." Cinnamon eyes drifted open and a smile came to the half-breed's lips, one hand reaching out towards Yuuri, beckoning to him.

"You are worth all the stars in the sky... every treasure my kingdom holds." The King came to stand beside Conrart, accepting the hand that had been reaching out towards him, allowing the man to pull him in closer. With a laugh, Yuuri found himself being settled into his husband's lap, easily fitting into his arms and resting his head back against one strong shoulder. "My life and my heart... isn't that what you said to me?"

"Something like that." Conrart shifted Yuuri in his lap, cradling the King a little closer to himself, relaxing as the warm weight settled back into his arms.

"You are... a very unusual Demon King." Alford Mackinner stood close to where the pair were resting, unable to help the slight smile that tugged at his own lips at seeing such a pair of people who clearly loved each other deeply.

"I hope that your particular definition of 'unusual' is the good variety." A soft laugh escaped the man, his eyes drifting half closed like that, unable to resist the lure of Conrart's warmth and the slow soothing stroke of a hand running over his stomach lightly. "Though you are not the first to say as much."

"I misjudged you."

Something however made Yuuri lift his head slightly, chin turning slightly to one side, trying to catch a hint of whatever it was that had abruptly distracted him. There it was again, almost like a strange low whistling rumble, one that had Pochi lifting his head from where he had been romping through the grass, his nostrils flaring slightly and letting out a chirp in response.

The King's brows drew together, every alarm within him going off loudly, he didn't even realise he was moving until Wolfram caught him lightly by the arm.

"Brother, what is it?"

"Can't you hear it?" Yuuri was taking another step forwards, his palms tingling with a flutter of heat. "Can none of you hear that sound?" Jolting to a stop, he dropped down to one knee, his arms reaching out for Pochi who immediately came loping over to him, giving a soft little welcoming growly sound as he was lifted into strong arms.

"_Yuu_?" Conrart was standing before the King, cinnamon eyes darkening with worry, his hands lightly catching his lover's face, turning it upwards gently. "What is it, Little Dragon?"

"I can hear the mother _calling_. She's calling for him, but she's not **here**." Yuuri shook his head slightly, wishing he could explain what he felt, all the sensations that were tumbling through him. "She's near the village... oh... _God_."

And the King was wrenching himself from his husband's grasp, running towards the trees, heading away from where they had been heading and back down the valley towards the village nestled at the base of the Drache Hills. He didn't notice the branches slapping at him, or the sting of leaves attempting to slice across his face as he ran, knowing that Conrart was just a step behind him, the others shouting at them to slow down... but neither did.

* * *

><p>Smoke and dust rose high in a growing cloud over the treetops, the screams of villagers rising high over the snarling roars of the mother. People were already scattering into the trees around them, fleeing from the destruction that was sweeping through their village as the dragon rampaged through the buildings, sending debris high into the air. Yuuri's heart was racing at the sight and from the terrifying run, feeling the wash of emotions screaming through him as he heard another heartbreaking roar from the frantic mother.<p>

He just couldn't understand why she was doing this, Pochi was right there in Yuuri's arms, the infant safe and secure, yet she was acting for all the world as if her offspring was somewhere hidden in the village and was tearing it apart to find her child.

Yuuri caught the arm of one of his own soldiers that had been accompanying his party on the inspection, practically jerking the man to a stop. "Gather the rest of the guards, make sure all the villagers are evacuated." His head lifted at the sight of a breathless Wolfram and Gunter drawing to a halt behind him. "Assist the guards. Get everyone clear."

Wolfram put up no protest at the order, Gunter hesitating only for a moment before following behind, both men gathering guards around them as they went heading towards several of the damaged buildings on the edge of the village to look for any trapped survivors.

"Conrart, Alford." He was holding the infant close to his chest, feeling it squirming slightly in his arms, clearly wanting to return to its mother as it let out several more soft growls and responses to the adult's bellowing. "I need you to find the others... I need you to stop the poachers. You need to keep them away from her... or I might not be able to do this."

Conrart's cinnamon eyes held Yuuri's for one long moment, attempting to read the King, hesitating for a few more brief seconds, before nodding. He drew the holy sword that had been strapped over his own back and threw it towards Alford, the human looking startled that he was being trusted with his weapon back. "Stay safe." The half-breed whispered, dipping his head and pressing a bruising kiss against his lover's lips, before moving away, heading towards where he could see the faint reddish glow from the esoteric stones against the white of the side of a building.

Alford stood there, his hands gripping his sword and staring at Yuuri in incomprehension. "You'll be killed."

"Don't underestimate me." He grinned, tipping his head in the direction Conrart had gone. "Go."

"But..."

"Go!" Yuuri roared at him, spinning on his own heel and running through the crumbling buildings towards the adult.

* * *

><p>Alford felt the weight of the sheathed sword in his hands as he moved between the buildings, eyes sweeping every shadow, every doorway searching for either of the two men who had been travelling with him. His heart ached at what he had almost done, the mistakes and assumptions he had made based on rumours and stories.<p>

"Alford!" It was a fierce whisper from amongst the bushes behind him, the foliage rustling as the red haired Belma appeared from amongst the clinging branches. "Alford! There you are, thank goodness you're alive." Her mauve eyes took in the sight of the warrior before her, rapidly putting together a new plan in her mind. "Now this is your chance to finally slay the dragon..."

"No!" The word escaped him roughly, his aquamarine eyes narrowing on her face, finally seeing what he had missed before in her expression, the devious calculation in her intense gaze. "Belma. The heart of a dragon cannot cure any disease, what you told me was a lie." His jaw clenched, anger surging up hotly through his blood and along with it the heavy guilt that came along with knowing he had almost harmed a creature which had done nothing to him. "I hear that dragon scales and tusks are worth a lot."

"So you discovered our little plan." Her mouth quirked upwards, amusement actually colouring her expression. "What a pity." She was moving forwards, sliding out from underneath the heavy shadows of the enclosing trees, her bright crimson hair standing out sharply in contrast against the wall of greenery.

"Stay back!" He withdrew his holy blade from its sheath resting across his back, his fingers curling tightly around the hilt.

"I was certain that you with your holy sword could be manipulated into killing a dragon for me." Her staff was tucked beneath the edge of her long dull green cloak, her lips turning into an arrogant smirk. "It seems I underestimated you. But no matter. After all, I found something much more valuable to market then a pitiful dragon."

Shock jolted through the warrior, his disbelief palpable. She wasn't... she _couldn't_.

"There are lots of people out there who would love to get their hands on a double black Demon King." Her back straightened, eyes sparkling with the thousands of greedy little thoughts that whispered in the back her mind about just what she would earn from such a prize. "That Demon King was completely helpless to save himself before. It should be simple to capture him."

"You, awful witch!"

"What's this? Has the hero suddenly decided to side with the Demon King? I thought you wanted to kill him?" Belma's mouth twisted in pleasure at the sight of burning guilt flaring in Alford's eyes and knowing her verbal arrow had found its mark. However, she was already retreating back into the trees as he gave a shout of rage and went after her, while her laughter drifted back tauntingly on the breeze.

* * *

><p>"I know you are angry." The words escaped Yuuri before he could stop them, his head tipped back to gaze into the blazing crimson eyes of the fully grown adult female. The youngster having been carefully hidden amongst the foliage of one of the massive oaks that stood in along the street to protect him from flying debris that continued to rain down upon him. Both hands lifting outwards, palms out, his expression showing his understanding. "Listen to me."<p>

The female roared out her fury, large body slamming through another building, her breath coming out in smoking wisp that curled around her jaws. Her wings spread, whipping up dust and smoke high into the air around Yuuri, her jaws snapping right before Yuuri's face. The low threatening sound escaped the dragon, her entire body coiling for battle. Every inch of her body trembled with the emotions that were seething through her, the flames wanting to escape.

"Listen to me!" He did not stumbled back when she again snarled at him, voicing her displeasure and rage over the fact that her child had been brought to this village. "Your son is here." Yuuri called to her, yet, she didn't seem to hear him, her nostrils flaring and taking in the thick scent of her offspring which covered Yuuri's clothing. "He is nearby. All is well."

Crimson eyes narrowed on him, fangs bared in a challenge.

"You entrusted me with his care, I would never betray you or your people." He stepped forwards, just as waves of flame swept out from her mouth, scorching the ground by his feet, yet not singing him even a little. Yet, the King could feel the heat of it soaking into his very body, the elements swirling around within him with the coils of smoke rising from the blackened vegetation.

Fire. It burned within her body, an ember that only need fuel to become a raging inferno, like what he sensed so often caught within Wolfram. He did not flinch from her accusations, her rage, understanding the emotions that swam within her being. Magic shimmered in the air, swirling around them both invisibly, pulsing through their blood and bones and into the ground beneath their feet.

Her roar echoed through the trees and crumbling buildings, the sound reaching from deep within her heart, echoing the grief that she felt. Head arching back, her inhuman bellow of inconsolable fury echoing off the hills, filling the sky and starting birds and animals in the forest with its power.

_Pain._

Yuuri blinked, the word almost seeming to vibrate in the centre of his mind, so clear that he could have sworn it had been spoken aloud. The female settled herself before the Demon King, her head lowering, teeth bared and letting out a low growl of sound.

_Broken promise._

"I do not understand." His obsidian eyes met those of the dragon whose muzzle lowered so that they were at eye level. "Please..."

_Humans come. Humans kill._ A snarl rumbled from deep in her chest, hot air washing over Yuuri's face and exposed skin. _Demons promise safety._ _Broken. Many broken... _

One hand lifted, hesitating only a moment before resting it against her muzzle, feeling the deep pulse of life within her, the flame ever burning within her chest. "Your son lives... but that is not whom you grieve for... is it?"

_Mate_.

Something incredibly warm brushed against Yuuri's leg and made the King look downwards at the infant pressed against his leg, huddling there. "Your son is all you have left." It was then that he saw the abandoned decoy sitting underneath several crushed trees, the light blue glossy shimmer of egg shell peeked out from under the cloth bindings. It all made sense to him. The three poachers had made a decoy using egg shells from the dragon's nest they had been near the day before, something that would smell like the infant enough to draw her attention. Yet, why would they bring it here?

"What can I do?" His fingertips traced over the dark scales, stepping in closer to the dragon, unafraid that she could easily turn her head and tear him limb from limb if she chose. "What can I do to stop this? I do not wish for any more of your people to be harmed."

_Protect. _

"What do you mean? What is it you wish me to do?"

_Protect! _

Shaking his head, he lifted his other hand to rest against her head, feeling the low rumble of sound run upwards from deep within the female's throat. "How?" The traps that others had been setting had not been enough to deter poachers and it was clear dragons were still being killed even here on Demon Tribe lands.

_Hide. _

The cryptic statements were definitely not helpful, however she had calmed down enough, that she was paying attention only to him. "Hide you how?" And the answer suddenly struck him with the force of a freight train running at full speed. "You mean like the esoteric sand bear trap in Svelera? You want me to... to erect an massive illusion barrier around the valley? Is that what you want?"

_No more men... no more see. Alone. Alone... safe. Cannot trust._

If anyone ever questioned the intelligence of dragons again, Yuuri would definitely have proof that they weren't animals at all. Problem was... "I don't have the power to do that."

_Demon King. _

"I might be... but... I do not have that kind of power. What you are talking about is... beyond..."

_We give strength. Promise, Demon King._

"If that is your wish. I will do what I can to keep it, but you must leave this place. Take your son and return to the valley. I promise I will come, I will do ask you have asked if I can."

_King. Honour. _

"On my life I vow I will do this."

And with that the female dragon ducked her head, her teeth ever so gingerly lifting the infant upwards, before her large wings spread, her body launching itself upwards into the air. Circling over the town once, the massive dark body vanished back into the forests from which she had come, disappearing from view.

* * *

><p>Suddenly Yuuri was grabbed from behind, his body wrenched backwards as an arm locked around his throat cutting off his air supply. His legs dangled a good foot off the ground as he fought against the powerful hold that prevented his escape. Fingernails bit into skin, as he attempted to wrench himself free, booted feet lashing out at the legs behind him, one finding a knee joint with a heavy crack. However even when the man holding him staggered, the grip on him only tightened.<p>

"Highness!" Gunter cried as the man hurried towards them, but froze when he saw the King struggling to breath, lips parting in a silent gasp for air. The King's sword arm was pinned down against his side, preventing him from reaching for the weapon or even Morgif.

Belma appeared suddenly out of the trees, her staff coming up, the bright esoteric stones sparking with power as they pressed close against Yuuri's face. "I wouldn't move if I were you." She laughed in glee, mauve eyes narrowing on Alford and Conrart who both looked ready to draw their weapons. "Unless you want your precious Demon King to get hurt."

"We have to do something." Alford hissed at Conrart. "The King is..."

"Just as I suspected, all I had to do was create a disturbance in a Demon Tribe village for my plan to work. I knew the Demon King would appear and how happy I am to discover that your King has no magical powers and was easy to capture."

Alford trembled with rage as he watched the Demon King's skin pale and turn ever so slightly blue as he struggled to draw in air. "We have to do something... he's _helpless_."

"No. He isn't." Conrart responded softly, releasing the grip on the hilt of his sword, as he gained a good sense of Yuuri's emotions. "He's angry." The half-breed straightened and glanced back towards his brother and Gunter, gesturing for them to retreat, though neither man did, despite the fact that Conrart knew Yuuri had reached the boiling point.

"Now I want you to move out of our way." She laughed softly to herself, pleasure reflected in her every feature. "It couldn't have turned out better, now the reward for a double-black is ours. I'll rake in so much money off you, I'll never have to work another day."

"_All that pain, all that grief for something so meaningless as money?_" Obsidian eyes opened, the pupils slitting right there before their eyes as an explosion of white hot power seared through Yuuri, his rage igniting his magic.

All it took was one powerful bolt of searing heat to slam both humans back, knocking them flat to the ground as flames roiled up along Yuuri's skin, surging from deep within him. It was the first time he had truly felt fire within him, when the emotions within him were so combustible that they ignited. It coiled around him like a serpent, fire given form, given life as he had seen Wolfram do. The creature's lithe body sliding slowly from where it had wrapped itself around his arms and shoulders, its jaws parting baring golden canines that burned from within.

"_A thousand years of trust shattered by your lustful greed._" Yuuri's arms opened wide, his head tipping back as he let out a roar of anguish that sounded from deep within his soul, feeling the pain of the dragons, feeling the pain that these humans had brought once more to his lands. "_My brothers! My sisters! I hear your words, I see your suffering! I ask you to answer the oath given to me by one of your number!_"

There was a moment of absolute silence before an answering roar that made the entire ground vibrate with the force of it. One turned into ten... turned into a hundred. Their dark shapes bloating out the sun, the air seeming to seethe around all present, the temperature beginning to rise. Several actually landed, their bodies moving in closer towards the flame that was the Demon King.

One lowered its head, massive jaws opening to one side of Belma's head, smoke sliding from between its teeth and across the human's skin, its burning crimson eyes staring at her with hatred.

"_Look into the face of what you would destroy with your arrogance and avarice._" Yuuri strode forwards, the ground hissing beneath his body as flames licked over it, its strength growing as it was being fed by the presence of the Dragons who had responded to the female's silent call for help in finding her child and now answered the King in his request. "_You would slaughter innocents, murder children_."

Yuuri's hand touched against the muzzle of the male whom had corned Belma, his fingertips resting only lightly against its nose with no fear at all of its power.

"Monsters." Belma stared, knowing she was just about to die.

"_We are not monsters!_" Yuuri roared at her, obsidian eyes burning with the dragon's own flame, one that pounded through his head and heart, throbbing deeply within his blood. "_They show mercy, where you do not._"

The Dragon pulled away with one last snarl, rejoining the others in the air.

"_You will pay for each of your crimes. You will answer for them to the villagers who's homes you have destroyed, to the families you have wounded._" Yuuri's eyes focused on Alford, studying the man who stared at him with shock and awe. "_We are the animals. We have lost the right to speak with our brothers and sisters. Let us feel their loss and be reminded of what we could have gained . Let this spell last until the time we are worthy once more of knowing them." _

His arms opened wide, hearing for the first and last time the song of the dragons. It filled him up and spilling up and out of him. The air shimmered and vibrated around him, the spell weaving itself together through him, the dragons feeding their powers through him, adding to the massive enchantment about to be cast. It was like nothing he had ever felt before, a magic so like their own, yet not.

Like a flood it rushed out of him, shimmering walls of magical flame reached up along the sides of the mountains, engulfing the trees, spreading between them. Though it seemed the world was on fire, nothing was truly alight.

Slowly... one by one... the dragons began to be eaten up by the flames, woven into the spell.

A blinding light engulfed the world as the spell was completed. Knocking everyone one to the ground with the force of it and into unconsciousness...

* * *

><p>Yuuri stood by the same window he had stared out of only days before, his eyes taking in the radically changed view, where once a valley lay between the sweeping arms of the Drache Hills, now nothing but hillside abounded. He started when he felt arms slowly slide around his waist, warmth spread along the length of his bare back, a mouth lingering against the nape of his neck.<p>

"Come back to bed."

"Did I do the right thing?" His voice was whisper soft as he stared up at what had been forged by the magic of the dragons through his own body. "Did I... do..."

"They are safe now." Conrart responded softly, straightening as he carefully turned Yuuri around to face him, one arm wrapping around the man's slender hips and tenderly tipping his chin upwards. "That has always been what we have wanted. I just never thought it would be in such a dramatic fashion."

"It oddly reminds me of the story about the Pied Piper of Hamlin." It was a ridiculous notion, but he glanced back towards the mountain that had grown in the place of the Valley of Dragons. "About where the Piper enchanted the children of Hamlin and guided them into the caves beneath Koppelberg Hill... I remember the one line... _'And when all were in to the very last,__ t__he door in the mountain-side shut fast.__'_ It's a story about broken promises... I'll tell you it sometime..."

"Yuuri...?"

"Maybe one day... I will understand it all." Yuuri leaned against Conrart, his obsidian eyes unfocused as he gazed out at the mountain born of fire and enchantments. "But... not today."

"There are some things even in this world... that defy explanation." The man pressed a kiss against his lover's forehead softly. "Let this stand as a lesson to us all... of what greed can cause."

* * *

><p><strong>O_O this surprised me! I have to admit even I didn't see this particular ending to this chapter coming! I really hope you liked it. I think it shows that not every time will they prevail in changing things. It does reminded me of the story of the Pied Piper. I didn't realise that until right the end. But I doubt I could blame the dragons for wanting to protect themselves like that, within a protected enchantment. <strong>


	21. Part 21: Rumours

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay on this chapter ^^:: my sister came down to visit me and it limits the time I can work on my stories. I should hopefully have the next chapter up by the end of tomorrow or the day after. Sorry! Life does seem to intrude on writing XD even during the holidays. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing! **

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Yuuri let out a shriek of laughter as the pillow thumped him hard across the back, his body twisting amongst the tumbled sheets to snatch up his own and started returning fire, managing to get several good blows in. Feathers exploded everywhere with each impact, covering both men with down, which looked quite adorable as it settled in Yuuri's dark locks. Another undignified squeal of laughter escaped Yuuri when he was pinned on his back, fingers tickling up along his sides, Conrart dropping a teasing kiss against his belly button, tongue flicking into the depression.

Fingers managing to snag the corner of his pillow, he thumped it over his lover's head, stunning Conrart enough to squirm out from under him and end up thumping to the floor, scrambling away, pillow clutched in hand as he sprinted for the door. Conrart was right behind him, the man's cinnamon eyes dancing with delight and amusement.

"You cannot escape me!" The warrior shouted.

Yuuri practically tumbled out the doorway, bare feet sliding on the newly washed stone and wood. He let out a chuckle when he glanced over his shoulder to see his husband come sliding out the doorway after him, pillow in hand. The moment he realised his lover was intending on throwing the soft projectile, he ducked, the white object went flying over his head and thumped into something quite solid with an explosion of white feathers and down that fell like snow over the corridor stones.

"CONRART!"

The King covered his mouth with one hand at the sound of that particular bellow of his beloved's name, his head lifting to gaze at a down covered Lord Gwendal Von Voltaire, the man's scowl being reduced in its overall fierceness by the fact that the man's hair and clothes were coated in a fine layer of white. A laugh desperately wanted to escape him as he stared in utter fascination as Gwendal's face went from its usual tawny gold towards a rather disturbing shade of red.

Gwendal was just about to explode, that much was clear.

All Yuuri could do to protect his husband was to grip the pillow in both hands and fling it at the man, hitting him squarely in the chest with it, white erupting from it again and he ran. Hand catching Conrart's, he pulled him along after him as Gwendal roared their names as they made an escape.

* * *

><p>Yuuri leaned against Conrart's bare chest, feeling the strong arms rest against his waist and back, hands curled together at the small of his back and held him close. One hand pressed over where he could feel that strong heart pounding underneath his fingertips. Dipping his head, the King lightly pressed a kiss there, a smile coming to his lips at what they had both just done. "He's going to be furious with us."<p>

"I must admit... it was worth it to see the look on his face." Conrart chuckled softly, propping himself up against the corridor wall and brushing both palms up along Yuuri's spine. Beginning to pick feathers out of the dark raven hair, he allowed his fingers to caress the man's scalp slowly, gaining himself a sexy purr from Yuuri. "Little Dragon." A fingertip lightly touched Yuuri's cheek, caressing tenderly.

"I admit... I like that nickname."

Conrart's head dipped and their mouths met in a tantalisingly sweet kiss, their tongues brushing as Yuuri pressed himself closer, opening to the invasion.

"Your Highness." A soft feminine voice greeted Yuuri, making both men start a little. "Lord Weller."

Head twisting, Yuuri's smile became full blown, obsidian eyes lighting up like a sunrise. "Nicola!" The greeting was one of honest delight at seeing the heavily pregnant woman again.

Her cheeks were a rosy pink, brandy brown eyes not quite meeting Yuuri's or Conrart's as she flushed even hotter when the King approached her. "It's been a long time, I hope you've both been doing well."

"What brings you to Covenant Castle today? Though I assure you, Nicola, you are always, _always_ welcome in our home." His scarred hands rested lightly on her shoulders, squeezing lightly and looking over here face, not quite able to figure out why she was blushing so hotly.

"I'm here to see Gisela, she's giving me a check-up to see how the baby's doing."

Yuuri nodded slightly, looking her over before glancing back over his shoulder at Conrart, suddenly realising exactly why she wasn't meeting either of their gazes. Conrart was only wearing his trousers, which were riding low on trim hips, the man standing there looking absolutely gorgeous and looking delicious when he gave Yuuri a smile as he noticed his perusal. Yuuri was similarly dressed in just pants as well, his bare feet chilled by the stone floor, toes curling slightly in response. They had both just returned from a bath after their morning exercises and had ended up playing when Yuuri had thrown a pillow at Conrart for a rather interesting remark he had made about Yuuri's rear.

"My apologies for our state of... undress. We..." His hand reached out to pluck a feather from Conrart's hair and blew it away from between his fingertips so it sailed down the corridor. "...We ended up getting quite distracted while dressing and well... you know how a pillow fight is."

Laughter twinkled in those brandy orbs when they did lift back to his face, sharing in the amusement of the thought of the King of the Great Demon Kingdom having a pillow fight with his husband.

"I must admit, I fear we went a little overboard with it... Gwendal ended up... _feathered_." Though it did seem Gwendal had the worst timing of anyone in the entire castle, finding himself face to face with Yuuri and Conrart's intense physical devotion to one another more often than not.

Nicola laughed softly at that, her hand covering her mouth and attempted to swallow back the sounds that wanted to escape her at the mental image the King had rendered in her mind.

"How are things going for you with Gwendal's family?"

"It has all been really terrific." However, her smile was beginning to fade as something flashed through her expression so quick he almost missed it. "Hube's parents have treated me very well and are excited about their grandchild." Her hands dropped to cover her rounded belly, as if attempting to protect the child inside from the world. "I think I'll be happy here with my child." But the conviction in her words that had been there moments before was absent.

"Nicola." His tone was so gentle. A hand reaching out to lightly touch her cheek, a fingertip slipping beneath her chin and lifted her face upwards, gazing into her eyes for one long moment, capturing them with the intensity of his obsidian orbs. "I am doing _everything_ I can to find Lord Geigen Huber." The King's dark eyes held an understanding of what pain she must be feeling without the man she loved by her side, though she had her child coming, it could not replace the warmth of that loved one in her life.

"Majesty... I... I do not mean to sound..."

"Nicola." Both hands grasped her face gently, turning her head upwards and making sure she could not look away from him. "I _promise_ to bring him home to you. I have the best men in my service searching for him, I will soon be in contact with someone who might be able to confirm certain rumours that have come to me in recent days from human lands."

"You..." Hope flared deep in her brandy gaze, lips parting about to say something when Yuuri silenced her with a finger against her lips.

"They are as I said, _rumours_. However, I do have hope, Nicola. It may take time... but he will come home to you, I promise you that."

* * *

><p>Smoothing down his jacket, he was brushing back the wild fall of raven locks that drifted into his eyes, he was startled when a pair of hands reached over and carefully drew the wild length away from his cheeks and looped something around the shoulder length mass at the nape of his neck. Long wavy strands still brushed against his cheeks, but he couldn't help but smile back at Conrart as he finished clasping the silver band around the restrained raven mane.<p>

"Your hair is getting quite long now." Conrart lightly smoothed back an errant strand from where it had fallen against Yuuri's cheek, tucking it behind his ear. "It's so soft..." The man practically buried his nose against it, inhaling the sweet slightly floral scents that clung to the still damp strands.

"Just going with the fashion trend around here." Yuuri grinned, though his eyes half closed in silent pleasure.

There was a solid knock on the door of their chambers as Dacauscas stood there in the opening, arms straight down at his sides. "An announcement, Sir!"

"Yes, what is it?" Conrart lifted his head reluctantly from where he had been nuzzling Yuuri's neck to regard the soldier in the doorway with a steady look.

"Sir! It concerns his Royal Majesty..." Dacauscas almost looked like he would faint from the strain that was showing on his face, his eyes staring at the black haired King with worry.

"You have no need to be so formal or secretive about whatever it is." Yuuri hadn't hidden any of his plans from Conrart, no matter how some might trouble the man, he understood the reason Yuuri had sent so many out to find Geigen Huber. It was the kind of man that Yuuri was, one who was unable to stand the sadness of others when he found himself so fortunate to have Conrart. "Please, just tell me the message."

"Sir... actually, there is a person at the castle gates who wishes to be seen by your Majesty."

"Hold it!" Gunter appeared from the corridor, several books and sheaths of papers clutched in his hands. "That is not following procedure. Affairs of that nature must first go through me."

The soldier looked extremely uncomfortable, his pallid face beginning to turn an odd shade of pink, the man actually clearing his throat roughly. "Yes, you see... however... Sir... This affair is of an extremely personal nature... so if I could just tell his Majesty in private..."

"Dacauscas, please, just say whatever it is."

"Very well, there is a young person who has just arrived at the castle claiming to be the ill-begotten offspring of his Majesty."

"_What_?" Yuuri's eyebrows immediately shot upwards in surprise at that.

"A young person has arrived claiming to be the child of his Highness."

Immediately Yuuri turned around to face his husband, both raven brows raised in complete befuddlement. "You do know that is quite impossible." He blinked once at Conrart. "Don't you? It's impossible for me to have..." The King actually flushed with embarrassment, his fingers rubbing over his face and glancing back towards Gunter and Dacauscas. "You all know I couldn't have... _women_..."

"Yes?" Conrart's fingertips lightly brushed against his cheek, feeling the heat burning across his skin.

"I've never done it with a woman... **ever**. I can't physically do it." Closing his eyes, he shook his head slightly, relaxing when he felt a soft kiss being pressed ever so lightly to his temple. "I can't get..." His entire face had gone red. "I can't get it up even if I wanted to." Shaking his head, he buried his face against Conrart's chest for a moment, hearing Conrart's reassuring murmur against his ear, an arm hugging him closer to that solid warmth.

"So where is this so called ill-begotten offspring?" Conrart asked, not doubting Yuuri's words for a moment considering the fact that his lover had been around countless beautiful women because of his duties and not one had ever produced in that gorgeous body what he could with just a single touch of his fingers. Evidence and his own trust in Yuuri had him questioning the veracity of Dacauscas's statement.

"Actually just inside the front door. The child brought an emblem of the Great Demon Kingdom that they say could only have been inherited by generations of Demon Kings and their kin." He looked nervous then, his glance flickering sideways towards the doorway behind him. "So I could not deny the child entry."

"That is most peculiar, his Majesty's emblem has not yet been designed." Gunter's lavender eyes stared down into the guard's and narrowed. "Given that his Majesty is to be married within the month... it was to be completed after the wedding ceremony." So that it would officially belong to both the Demon King and his consort, rather than just one. "So without a doubt this child does not belong to his Majesty."

"I would certainly hope not." Yuuri wanted to roll his eyes at Gunter's need for reasoning about such a matter. "However, that begs the question of whose emblem it is." Sighing, Yuuri rubbed lightly at one of his still pink cheeks, feeling a little silly right at that moment. "Gentlemen, shall we go find an answer to this mystery?"

With that they filled out into the hallway, Yuuri smiling at the sight of both Gwendal and Adalbert who had come to see what all the commotion was about, though Gwendal shot Yuuri back a dark look that just made Yuuri's smile brighten. He wasn't about to tell Gwendal that there was still a feather caught up in his charcoal grey hair... who was he to spoil the fun?

Yuuri stepped out into the hallway, gazing down its length towards the two guards who stood on either side of a young human girl, one lightly supporting her with a hand against her back. She looked lost, almost frightened, yet there was something about the way her eyes widened at the sight of Yuuri Shibuya standing there in the corridor, his raven black hair framing his slightly flushed face.

"PAPA!"

It was the shout of that one word that made Yuuri freeze as he gazed at the little girl who was running towards him, large chestnut eyes shimmering with something close to tears. The sight of her pain clenched at his heart and he didn't realise her hands were moving.

That word echoed down the corridor as she shouted it again, running towards him.

Her hand slipped behind her back, reaching for something as she approached him, the fear disappearing in a blaze of emotion and hatred. He didn't see the knife that suddenly appeared in her hands, only staring into her eyes, seeing the pain still simmering behind that rage that should never have been on the face of a child.

Suddenly Adalbert was letting out a sound of rage as he suddenly thrust himself between the child and the King, vivid blue eyes blazing with rage as a hand slammed down hard against her hand and wrist, knocking the blade from it. The force of the Adalbert's strike and girl's own momentum had her tumbling forwards down to the stone floor of the corridor.

Yuuri almost lost his balance too, but he let out a squeak when he found himself spun, his entire body being turned away from the scene, Conrart's broad back being placed to it as Yuuri was cradled protectively against it. He could only stand there in the warm arms of his beloved and stare sightlessly at the black and silver fabric an inch from the tip of his nose as his mind refused to accept what he had just seen.

* * *

><p>Yuuri blinked slightly at the warm tingle that ran up along his arm, awareness returning to him with a powerful jolt, his head jerking upwards from where it had been resting against Conrart's broad shoulder. His fingers jerked slightly in the soft hand that curled around one of his larger ones, the tickle of magic flickering up still along his arm and into him, soothing away whatever it was that had knocked him practically senseless for several minutes.<p>

"Easy, Love." Conrart breathed against his hair, pressing a soft kiss against his temple, soothing him. "You're alright... everyone is fine."

"What...?"

"You blacked out, Sire." Gisela's face appeared in Yuuri's range of vision, her expression concerned, her fingers curling a little more protectively around the King's. "How do you feel? Any dizziness, blurred vision?"

"No..." He responded, but felt himself sag back into Conrart's hold. His eyes closed for a long minute, while he rested his cheek against the side of the man's throat, hearing his heartbeat racing just beneath his ear. The steady though fast rhythm easing his distress a little, his mind attempting to put itself back together. "I'm tired... that's all. What happened? The last thing I remembered was the little girl running towards me..."

"She attempted to stab you." Adalbert rumbled from where he stood near the bed, resting against the wall, powerful arms crossed over his chest and scowling as he stared out the window. The other people in the room could almost hear his teeth grinding together as anger ran across his features, etched deeply in the lines of his face. "The child should never have been allowed so far into the castle in the first place without being checked. The guards responsible for this blunder will answer for their ineptitude, Sire."

"Don't be too harsh on them, Adalbert." Yuuri sighed softly, his free hand lifting up to lightly touch his face, rubbing at his eyes and feeling his heart ache at the thought of that child attempting to kill him. "She is a _child_."

"Her age is no excuse." Cobalt blue eyes blazed for just a moment, but when they turned on Yuuri, they immediately softened at the sight of his distress. "However, she is being kept in one of the rooms in the castle." Huffing out softly, the man shifted forwards so that he stood beside Gisela, one large calloused hand lightly stroking along the length of the woman's braid, his thumb caressing the sensitive skin just behind her ear. "I knew you would not take kindly to other suggestions of her being placed in the dungeon."

"Thank you." The King was surprised by Adalbert's actions, even though he knew the dungeon was more than likely the place everyone wanted the young girl to be over the attempt, he still could not see a child be placed in such darkness and cold. A smile came to his lips as he gazed down at Gisela and felt a warmth settle in his heart at the gentleness of her touch. "Thank you too, Gisela."

However, he gently withdrew his hand from hers, cutting off the flow of healing magic and settled back closer to Conrart, entwining their fingers and needing to clear his slightly fogging brain that had filled with too much healing magic for him to think quite straight.

There was a knock on his chamber door, before Conrart called for those on the other side to come.

Wolfram and Gwendal stood there, the older of the two looking positively grim.

"How are you feeling, Brother?" Wolfram asked, green eyes showing the deeply rooted concern there as he studied the slightly pale features of their King.

"It's nothing serious..." His gaze dropped to Gisela's as she rose to her feet, Adalbert still hovering just by her shoulder, clearly loath to be away from her.

"His Majesty is still recovering from his encounter with the dragons in the Drache Hills. I suggest, Sire, that you take some time to relax and heal from your experiences... You have been overworking yourself..." Her gaze flickered to the faces of both Gwendal and Gunter in that moment, a slight frown touching her lips. "Your dedication is unparalleled, Sire, but like any other, you must know you have your limits."

"I am sorry, I am unable to do that." Yuuri was finding his feet, feeling Conrart moving with him, strong hands steadying him even though he didn't require the assistance. "I have prior commitments, Gisela, ones that cannot be postponed or given to another to attend to." His lips pressed together, knowing that as much as he did wish to rest, he couldn't, not when he was finally getting closer to finding Lord Griesela Geigen Huber and also the birth of the man and Nicola's first child.

"Don't be stubborn, Sire." Wolfram's green eyes narrowed on Yuuri.

"This matter is not up for discussion." His expression was stony, his jaw set and showing that he would not take people arguing over that matter with him. "I will promise to do what I can to stay off my feet and rest as you suggested." Obsidian eyes levelled on Gwendal, jaw clenching to keep down the bile that wanted to rise into his throat at the thought that a child... a human child had wanted to assassinate him. "Were you able to gather any information from the child?"

"No, she hasn't said a word." Gwendal's expression grew even more grim, navy eyes taking in his brother-in-law's features and knowing that Yuuri would not let this keep him back for any length of time.

"What are your plans for her, Gwendal?" Even though the final decision ultimately rested in Yuuri's hands, he knew just how protective a lot of the people around him were.

"Remember that child attempted to assassinate you." His eyes narrowed slightly, both fists clenching by his sides to think that the King himself had almost been injured on their watch. "One cannot get off lightly with that sort of crime."

"She is just a child." His voice was rough with emotion, fingers sliding back through his hair which had almost completely pulled loose from its clasp. "There has to be a reason for this... I cannot believe a child that young would wish to... harm me in such a fashion."

"A crime is a crime." Gwendal gritted out. "No matter how young the perpetrator."

Yuuri hands curled into fists, body trembling with the pent up emotions within him, ones that he carried from his encounters with the dragons. "If you punish that child... Lord Von Voltaire." The scars that cut across his palms, feeling the simmering anguish scoring across his heart. "Your services will no longer be required in this castle." He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth, his frustration clear to everyone in the room. "No more children will be hurt because of me. I am uninjured. It was a _failed_ attempt."

"Little Dragon." Conrart's fingers curled around the back of Yuuri's neck, stilling the man before he could start his restless pacing. "I promise I will see to her care, nothing will happen to her. She's safe... she'll be treated well."

The King trembled in Conrart's grasp, but didn't pull away, just letting his fingers slowly stroke against the twitching muscles just beneath his hand.

Cinnamon eyes met navy blue and saw the deep concern in them.

"I'm sorry." Yuuri murmured out softly, obsidian eyes closing while he desperately attempted to pull himself together, still shaken over the incident of only a few days before. "I just..." A ragged breath slipped out from between his lips, shaking his head, he hadn't meant to buckle under the pressure of his own emotions. "I still feel the dragons within me... I can still hear them... Feel their anguish... their anger..." His dark eyes gazed at Gwendal, his expression showing his guilt and regret for ever saying such a thing to his older brother-in-law. "I am so sorry, Brother..."

Gwendal nodded in understanding, his features warm and understanding.

"I love you." Conrart whispered softly, drawing the smaller man into his arms, cradling him close and allowing him to lean against him and find his strength through their shared embrace.

* * *

><p><strong>Private Vessel, <em>Cerulean Crest<em>, International Waters**

"Was he certain?" Yuuri's head tipped to the side slightly as a cool sea breeze washed over his face as it came up off the roaring ocean that battered at the bow. The large metal medallion rested against his palm, his thumb brushing over its surface tracing the raised design. His fingers spread, when he offered it out to Conrart, carefully setting it into his husband's palm.

"Very certain." The half-breed leaned against the railing of the ship, his long hair whipping against his cheeks lightly. "It is Geigen Huber's, there is no doubt in Adalbert's mind."

"How could she have come by it?" Lips pressing together into a line, he shifted a little closer to Conrart, their elbows touching lightly together. "There are so many questions she might just be able to answer... yet I know she's frightened and pushing her now to answer... might just mean we never learn what happened to Geigen Huber." Twisting around, his back pressed against the railing, his head tipping back and staring up at the wide blue expanse of sky overhead. "We are so _close_ to finding him, I can feel it. Yet... he still seems so far away, just out of reach."

"We will find him."

"What's going to happen when we do?" His eyes swept over the tense lines of his beloved's face, knowing that the thought of that man returning to the Great Demon Kingdom disturbed him, yet here Conrart was supporting his efforts without a word of protest. "Conrart... I... I'm being selfish about this again..." Shifting in closer, his hand reached out to stroke along the side of his lover's throat and against his nape, feeling the tight knot of muscles just beneath his fingertips.

"No." The man offered Yuuri a tight smile, easing in so that their bodies touched along their sides and thighs. "You are not being selfish, Yuuri. You are not doing this for yourself, you're doing this for Nicola and in a way... for Gwendal as well." The fingers of one hand lightly tapped against the wood of the railing, clearly searching for the words that seemed to elude him.

"However... he one of the reasons Julia is dead." Swallowing down a lump that formed at the thought of his own tangled feelings over that particular matter. "I don't know whether I hate him... or I should thank him." A shaky laugh escaped Yuuri, his cheek resting against Conrart's shoulder lightly. "Hate him for the deaths he caused, for almost getting you killed with his bigotry... or thank him for giving me a chance to live."

"Do you think he truly has changed, Yuuri?" Conrart's cinnamon eyes reflected his uncertainty. "Do you think it truly is possible for a man like Griesela Geigen Huber to truly change his mind about racial purity? I mean... there is Nicola... but still I can't... I can't see him changing. I can still see his smile as he watched us leave... hear his accusations ringing in my head."

"Love." He turned his head enough to drop a little against Conrart's shoulder, wanting to allow Conrart the chance to speak his mind as he so often did knowing they wouldn't be judging each other on what they said.

"I always... hated that man. I was always _less_ in his eyes, like I was in Wolfram's." The man shifted so that he could sit down on a nearby crate, his arms resting against his knees, staring down at the wooden decking. "I've always felt... I had to prove I loved the Great Demon Kingdom as much as they did. I thought... I thought my life only had meaning if I could force them to see I was worthy... that we... that we were just as loyal."

Yuuri moved towards Conrart, dropping to his knees in between Conrart's legs, his hands brushing against either side of Conrart's face, lifting it just enough so that their eyes could meet.

"I wanted so much... to see pride in Gwendal's eyes instead of disappointment. Only Julia made me feel for a little while... that I had worth to someone. I guess... I clung to that... seeing something in her words that wasn't truly there. We were friends but... it was never intended to be more than that."

"You... were the first person not to flinch away at my touch." Conrart gazed deeply into the obsidian eyes that were filled with a soul deep love and concern that made him feel like he was worth it. "You wanted my touch... you wanted me. _Just_ me. A half-breed with no powers and nothing to truly offer you other than my sword and loyalty."

"You offered me your life and your heart and they are the most precious gifts I have ever received." His lips tenderly touched against Conrart's, the softest of kisses that spoke of the true love that ran between them, of the connection that was soul deep. "My Prince. My beloved Lion."

"Do you know what you truly mean to me, Yuuri Shibuya Weller? What this means?" His larger hand closed over the back of one of Yuuri's scarred ones, holding it there and turning his head just enough to brush his lips along the straight lines that added to the perfection of the pale skin. "You gave me a reason to _live_."

"And you gave me a reason to smile."

"I have seen your power... the way you change all of those around you... I never thought I could stand beside Adalbert Von Grantz and be able to call him friend. I never thought my brothers would tell me... they love me, that they were proud of who I was... and what I was." A single tear slipped down Conrart's cheek and slid onto Yuuri's fingers. "You made me proud to be what I am... to be a half blooded Tribesman. People in the streets... no longer sneer... they don't turn their heads away when they see me approach."

"I haven't... I doubt I have done that much..." Yuuri shook his head slightly, offering Conrart a soft smile and feeling his heart swell with love and warmth to know that he had been able to bring happiness back to his beloved.

"You have, my Love." Conrart swallowed hard around the lump in his throat, his head dipping so that their foreheads could touch lightly, noses brushing. "Maybe... maybe it's time I let go of my hate... let go of that anger within me..."

Yuuri's mouth turned upwards at the corners. "You're right." He breathed softly, his lips ghosting over Conrart's, feeling his heart ease as large calloused hands cradled the back of his neck, holding him close. "For the sake of Nicola and her child." Obsidian eyes drifting closed, he let out a contented little sound, eyes closing slowly. Conrart kissed him, a long slow kiss that drew him away from that dark place that had settled in his heart.

"Twenty years is punishment enough." The half-breed released a long slow breath and a thousand emotions with it. "He has found the Demon Flute... and its time he came home."

Yuuri felt an odd shifting in his chest, the weight of something slowly lifting from his heart. The choking heaviness that had been resting there for so long dropped away and he felt like he could almost breath again. "Thank you."

"For what, my Little Dragon?"

"For being you." Both his arms reached out to curl around the man's shoulders, drawing him in close for another heart stopping kiss, rejoicing in the warmth of his lover's arms sliding around him.

* * *

><p>Conrart lay curled on a nearby couch, his large body covering its entire length, one cinnamon eye drifting open as he watched Yuuri with the young girl. Though it seemed she now had no intention of attempting to threaten Yuuri's life again, Conrart's sword was propped up close by just in case, however he was loath to even consider using it.<p>

Yuuri's pale fingers curled around the human girl's, thumb stroking softly over the back of it, the slow gentle flow of magic sliding into her small body and easing the raging heat of her fever, which had started soon after they had come aboard the ship. A soft shimmering flutter of magic danced over her wrist and arm, like tiny butterflies settling against her skin. He felt her stir slowly, her hand trembling in his grip and so he carefully settled her hand back down onto the bedding as she awakened.

Chestnut brown eyes drifted open, blinking slowly to stare at the ceiling overhead.

"Easy now, Little One." His smile was warm and friendly, his body leaning forwards on the chair he was seated in beside her bed. "How are you feeling? Can you tell me where you are from so that I can arrange for you to be taken home?"

Her gaze flickered to his face, eyes widening ever so slightly as she realised who was tending to her before her head turned away from him. And for the first time since she had called to him two days before, she spoke. "I can't." It was barely above a whisper, the sorrow in that tone cutting Yuuri right down to the bone. "I can't go home."

"Why?" He questioned gently. "I am quite certain your parents must be extremely worried about you."

She remained silent.

Yuuri's eyes however dropped down to one of her shoulders, having seen the vivid blue letters that ran down across the top of her shoulder and arm before it disappeared beneath the blanket. His eyebrows lifted as he read it to himself. "Izula. Is that your name?"

She jerked at that, her body tensing beneath the sheets at the sound of his question, abruptly she was jerking upwards into a sitting position and glared at him angrily. "No, it's not! It's my mother's name! Okay?"

The King had been so startled by her abrupt response that he had actually unbalanced himself in the chair he had been sitting in and almost fell out of it sideways. His hand against the edge of the bed the only thing that prevented him from ending up thumping to the floor in an undignified heap. "You startled me, not many people have been able to do that." He offered her a small smile. "What is your name if not that?"

There was a long pause, before she did manage an answer. "Its Greta."

"I'm Yuuri Shibuya Weller." He offered his own name, before smiling as he glanced towards his husband, who looked quite contented sprawled on the couch, his head resting on a snagged cushion from a nearby chair. "And the man over there is my husband, Conrart."

"Hello, Greta." Conrart offered with his own smile when the girl's eyes glanced towards him.

"Greta." Yuuri's voice was gentle and his lifted his hand upwards and gave her a gentle look. "You still have a fever. Would it be alright if I continued to treat you?" A single finger lightly touched the back of the hand he had been holding earlier.

She flinched away at the touch, but her gaze lifted to Yuuri's face, staring into the soulful obsidian eyes that watched her with a tender concern. "I..."

"If you want me to stop at any time, just tell me. I won't be angry and I'm certain we can find some medicine if you would prefer that."

Slowly, her let her hand slide back towards Yuuri's, unable to look away from the dark gaze of the Demon King and the concern for her that glittered in the depths of them. Her fingers brushed against his palm, before he carefully closed his much larger hand around her smaller one. The warm shimmer of healing magic began to brush around her fingers again, tickling softly against her skin, but immediately easing the pain she was feeling.

Chestnut brown eyes widened at the magic she was witnessing, but didn't pull away, actually entranced by it.

"We won't hurt you, Sweetheart. I only want to see you well again."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Schildkraut, <strong>_**Wienne**

Yuuri stood there stunned for just a moment, eyes widening as his gaze swept along the vast tracks of street that were illuminated like those in Tokyo, the colours so bright that it almost dazzled him. Voices and music filled the brightly lit space, rowdy laughter and raucous comments filtering out from between a number of stalls and various establishments that ran along the length of this district in _Schildkraut_. It was clear as the sun came down, the other half of the city's population had come out to enjoy the entertainments and distractions that this city was becoming famous for besides its hot springs.

His lips turned upwards into a small smile when he felt a slight tug on the edge of his jacket, eyes flicking down and realising that Greta was close to his side, fingers fisted in his long blue jacket. Greta's face was lit up like a Christmas tree, eyes wide in her small face, observing everything that was going on around them.

"This is a colossal waste of esoteric stones. All this flim-flam wasn't here before." Conrart's expression was a touch disgusted, but there was a slight paleness to the man's features even in the harsh glare of the city 'lights'.

"I would have to agree." Yuuri sighed, glancing towards Wolfram who was hovering behind them, the four plain clothed guards that Adalbert had arranged to accompany them moved slightly closer when someone approached their small party.

"Hey, Mister." A blonde woman sidled up to Conrart, her revealing black dress barely hiding anything as she gazed up at the powerful warrior who stood beside Yuuri. However, her smile brightened a little as she glanced towards Yuuri, brown eyes gleaming with interest at the fact that Yuuri's clothes were finely tailored and embroidery ran the length of the azure blue fabric. It had been a gift from Cecilie, something Yuuri quite adored and Conrart seemed to like it quite a bit too.

Another woman, who's air was tied back into two twists at the back of her head, offered them a weak smile too as she stood beside the 'perkier' blonde. However, her pallor beneath the layer of makeup was quite obvious in the brilliant glare of the esoteric stones.

"Hey, do you guys what to come with us and have a real good time?" The blonde beamed up at Conrart, flashing white teeth in a seductive little grin. "We work in the place over there, nice and close." Her hand had reached out to lightly brush over the front of his white shirt, tracing the line of buttons in a slow caress. "Your friend there is more than welcome to..."

Yuuri's hand had suddenly closed around her wrist ever so lightly, stilling it in its downward trek and drawing it away from Conrart's navel. "Please refrain from touching my _husband_ so familiarly." His jaw clenched slightly, carefully uncurling his fingers and shifting in to stand before his beloved, placing himself between the women and Conrart. Jealousy burned in Yuuri's expression, but even then, he had not hurt the woman at all or raised his voice to her.

"My Little Dragon." Conrart was startled, but deeply touched by Yuuri's show of possessiveness. He rewarded his lover by wrapping both arms around the slender waist and kissed his temple, nuzzling the fine dark strains that had managed to peak out from under the edge of his leather cap. "Forgive us, Ladies." The half-breed offered them a charming smile. "My Love here is quite possessive of me."

"I..." Yuuri flushed hotly, leaning back into the warm arms curled around him. "I apologise... I'm..." He was lightly brushing his hand against Conrart's arm, feeling it give him an affectionate squeeze in response.

"I am sorry, but we are not interested in an amusement centre, none of my party gamble. Besides, we wish to go settle into our accommodations before it gets any later."

The girls just smiled at the men, the blonde clearly not offended by the fact that she had been grabbed, because unlike most, Yuuri had tempered his strength and truly not meant any harm at all to them.

"**What's that!**"

Suddenly all eyes were turning towards one of the entrances into the large gambling hall when an angry shout escaped one of the patrons being directed at a large rotund man who appeared to be the owner of the establishment.

"**You swindled me out of my money, you lousy crook! Give it back!**"

The loud murmur of interested voices covered the response of the owner, however as their party turned they saw the flash of a knife being drawn from the patron's shirt. Yet the moment it became visible, the masked bodyguard was launching himself into action, one fist knocking the patron so hard that he stumbled backwards and to the ground, hat flying off his head. The blade spun high into the air and landed with a clatter on the smooth worn flagstones of the street.

The owner and bodyguard were already moving away from the downed man when the blade stopped rotating, leaving him behind in the dust.

The pair had only gone a couple of steps when the bodyguard whirled in their direction, one single teal blue eye staring at them from beneath the mask, looking over Yuuri's head and that gaze narrowed momentarily on Conrart. There was a flash of recognition from the masked warrior, a stiffening of broad shoulders and the slight straightening of his back.

"Customers often misplace their anger after gambling everything away." The blonde said, her eyes dimming at the sight of the man still sitting in the dust, his face reflecting the new circumstances he found himself in. "They take it out on us."

"Well anyway it's their problem." Wolfram murmured from where he had been standing silently beside Yuuri and Conrart, his green eyes narrowing slightly on the stranger. "It's none of our business, so stay out of it, Brother."

Yuuri sighed, his eyes closing and knowing that Wolfram was right, this was not a situation he could afford to get involved in, yet it still deeply troubled him.

"It's time for us to be on our way."

"Greta." Yuuri called softly, drawing the child's attention to him and offered out a hand to her. "Come along."

* * *

><p>A soft contented little moan escaped him as he dropped his head to rest against Conrart's shoulder, his body shuddering with the after affects of his climax. Conrart's hand curled ever so gently around the nape of his neck and drew his head back enough to kiss him soundly, lips and tongue exploring every inch of his mouth, leaving him breathless when he pulled away. Rocking back slightly, he felt that softening length slip a little more deeply into him, something he honestly enjoyed the sensation of.<p>

"I love you." He breathed against Conrart's lips, the tips of their noses brushing as he pulled back slightly and settled himself more comfortably across his lover's lap, legs tucked on either side of Conrart's hips. Amusement glimmered in his eyes as he realised quite a bit of water from their shared bath was all over the floor, because of their exertions.

"As I you, Yuuri." Conrart settled against the back of the tub, his knees lifting to help cradle Yuuri's body and shuddered slightly when he slipped in an extra inch. Cinnamon eyes drifted closed, his head resting back slowly, touching against the wood panelled wall that ran behind the bath.

"Are you feeling well?" A fingertip brushed across Conrart's cheek, caressing the flushed skin, but Yuuri had already noted the slight pallor of his beloved's complexion.

"I will admit I am a little sick to my stomach... but I only think it was something I ate on the ship." Conrart's hands lifted from where they had curled themselves into the King's hair and brushed down his lover's sides and then upwards, thumbs teasing sensitive nipples lightly, feeling Yuuri squirm in response. "I should feel better by morning."

"You should tell me if you feel ill." Yuuri's tongue licked across the small scar that ran across Conrart's eyebrow, rubbing their cheeks together and nibbling his way to his ear, tugging at the lobe playfully. His hands however rested against the small of Conrart's back, palms spread across the warm skin, allowing healing magic to surge upwards into Conrart's body, flooding the man's systems with heat and warmth.

Conrart practically sagged on the spot, his eyes closing as he let out a relieved breath as the weakness that had struck him when they had entered the city faded. "That... feels so good."

"Better, Conrart?"

"Yes." Lips turning upwards, he opened one eye to gaze into Yuuri's face with affection. "Thank you, Beloved."

"You're welcome." Shifting forwards, he snuggled up against the man's chest as he allowed his palms to remain where they were and his thumbs caressed over the top of his lover's tight rear. "Are you going to go see Ryan?"

"Yes. After this... when Wolfram and Greta get back from the hot springs."

"I shouldn't be out much longer than you." He answered, mouth running up along Conrart's neck and delighting in the way that he arched his head to the side allowing him greater access to curve of it. "The meeting is in the main street at a small food vender's called Angola's. I will take two of the guards with me." However, Yuuri was quite capable of protecting himself if something happened. "Hopefully Tomas will have good news for us about Geigen Huber."

"You will be careful, won't you?"

"Extremely." Yuuri smiled at him reassuringly. "I will be armed and alert."

"I trust you, Little Dragon." Conrart whispered, cradling his lover's head in both hands, foreheads touching. "I know you are capable of looking after yourself. Sometimes I just..."

"I understand. I like it when you're protective of me." He smiled, but felt warmth spread through him that Conrart trusted him to protect himself.

* * *

><p>Yuuri carefully shut the door to the room he shared with Conrart and tugged the leather cap further down over his hair, grateful that he didn't have to dye it. He stopped however when he realised that Greta was standing by the door that led out to the hall, her fingers jerking back from the knob as she turned to face him.<p>

"Greta?"

"I have to go find someone." Her voice was soft, her wide chestnut brown eyes staring at him almost hopefully, clearly noting that he was dressed to head outside. "I saw him earlier."

Here was an opportunity to learn more about Greta and also maybe find someone she knew who could tell them where the little girl had come from so that they could return her home. "Greta. If you wanted to look for someone, you could have asked Conrart or I to take you out to look for him. This city is not safe to be in alone."

"Can... can we look?"

"Of course we can." Yuuri offered out a hand towards her, fingers spread and she was slowly coming to his side, one hand curling around his and clinging to it as if to a lifeline. "I have someone I need to see first, but after that I don't see why we can't look for this friend of yours."

As they stepped out the door, Yuuri spoke to the three men who appeared instantly by the doorway when its hinges creaked to announce their departure from the rooms where Wolfram still slept. The younger man had been out like a light and Yuuri had not wanted to disturb his sleep over a meeting that should take no more than an hour to finish and return from. Explaining their intentions to the guard who would be left behind to watch over Wolfram and asking that he passed on the message that they would be looking for Greta's 'friend' and their hopes that Conrart would join them.

Smiling softly, he offered the man remaining a good night, before he was guiding Greta away as the two guards followed close behind him, clearly not about to leave their King unattended.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed that. There will be a few twists added in to this plot, let's just say things might just turn out rather interesting for our King and his Consort. <strong>


	22. Part 22: Sorrows

**Author's Note: Enjoy ^_^ sorry my postings are a touch sporadic but that's because life really does like to come back and haunt you! LOL but there will be another chapter tomorrow my time. I'm quite certain of that. Or so I hope. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but a few plot elements. LOL **

* * *

><p><strong>Schildkraut, Wienne<strong>

"It's such a beautiful night." Yuuri remarked softly to Greta, his fingers curled warmly around the little girl's, squeezing them gently he offered her a warm smile. "If you like maybe tomorrow we can visit some of the stalls with Conrart and Wolfram."

"I... I would like that." Greta whispered softly, her wide chestnut eyes gazing up at him with surprise.

"Then its settled."

His mood brightening a little, he had known that she had never truly wanted to harm him. Though he glanced back at the guards on either side of him whom blended well into the crowd, not making their presence obvious, privately he definitely thought he would have to thank Adalbert for his selection and discretion.

"Please you have to let me..."

Yuuri's head jerked up at the sound of that voice, his dark eyes scanning the crowd, brows knitting together as he was searching for a familiar face and paused when he spied her. The young blonde human woman who had attempted to lay her hands on territory that was already claimed.

"I don't think so, girlie." A gruff voice answered her. "If you just up and quit right now, your high and mightiness, it'll set a bad example for the other employees and put more pressure on the other girls. You don't want that do you?"

"Please." She whispered, her body trapped against one of the building's support pillars by the brawny bulk of three ruffians. "Please let me go."

"Look... it's that lady..."

"Stay here, Greta." His tone was firm, his hand slipping out of hers as he gestured for one of the guards to stand by her and make sure no one decided to harm the little girl. "I will be only a moment." Striding forwards, his shoulders straightened and his dark eyes glittered with a hint of anger at the sight of the woman being abused like that. "If you do not release her this moment, you will regret the rest of the night."

Their heads jerked around, their attention turning away from the young woman trapped in between them.

"Oh... so you think you have the right to order us around and poke your nose into other people's business?"

"Trust me, it's a bad habit of mine, but one that usually ends with the _cowards_ in retreat." Obsidian narrowed on them as they stepped away from the woman and were moving towards him. "You're not even worth using a sword on."

"Haven't seen your ugly grill around before."

He was grateful when he noticed the girl dart away the moment the gang's attention was focused squarely on him, it was a relief to know she was out of harm's way as was Greta. The second of the guard stood nearby, his head tipped forwards and bowed his head when he was given the signal to allow Yuuri to handle this himself. It was about time he could finally release some of the pent up emotions that were roiling around within him.

"You should learn that looking defenceless and being defenceless are two different things entirely."

Yuuri ducked the first swing that came at him, catching the man's wrist and twisting hard, actually sending him to his knees with a howl of pain. The Demon King took on the three larger men, his fist and feet connection with bodies, feeling onto two of his enemy's blows land on his shoulder and chest. He didn't give them time to recover, going after them like the dragon he had been called by his lover. His knuckles were red and bleeding a little by the time he finished with them, staring down at their crumpled forms with disgust.

"You touch any woman again like that and I _will_ use my sword on you." It was a low snarl, his dark eyes flashing a heated warning. "Is that **understood**?"

"Yeah man..." One croaked out, barely able to lift his head from where it had fallen against the back of one of his companion's whom he was sprawled over.

Yuuri turned away, lightly rubbing his fingers over his knuckles and actually feeling surprisingly a lot better, before watching Greta's eyes widen as she stared up at him. "I didn't mean to scare you, Greta."

"You... didn't." Her mouth opened a little and she offered him her first actual smile. "That was amazing."

"Thank you."

Offering out his hand to her, he was surprised when she withdrew a small handkerchief from her pocket and actually wrapped it around his palm and reddened knuckles. It warmed his heart and he couldn't help but smile brightly at her. Reaching out, he swept her upwards into his arms easily and up onto his shoulders, as she let out a squeak of delight.

"The view is better from up here." He bounced her once slightly as his hands rested lightly against her calf to keep her in place and couldn't help but smile up at her. Yuuri would definitely be the first to admit that little Greta had earned herself a place in his heart.

* * *

><p>"Majesty." The dark haired half-breed offered him a small bow of respect before smiling, though his eyes flickered slightly to either side, before gesturing them to follow him a little more into the shadows at the side of one of the vegetable stalls that sat opposite to the noodle one they had met at. "You are well, Sire?"<p>

"Very well." One hand rested on the man's shoulder and squeezed warmly, expressing his ready affection for one of the men who had willingly ventured out into human territories to help provide them with the information they were seeking. "Do you have news of Geigen Huber?"

"Unfortunately no, Sire. However, I have come across some very interesting information regarding a certain pair of escapee Sveleran royals." A hand slipped underneath his tunic and withdrew a slip of official looking parchment, unfolding it and presenting it to the King. "Apparently the ship's registry for the vessel they arrived in showed three passengers and five servants with cargo, under false identities of course, yet their outgoing papers showed as you can see, only two passengers and five servants with cargo."

"Please do not say..." Obsidian eyes closed tightly for a moment after having scanned down over the document that Tomas had handed to him.

"It is clear their voyage from here to Big Cimaron waters was funded by a Mr Louis Vuillon, the owner of the largest casino in Schildkraut and known human trafficker."

"Do you have any clue to exactly who was with them on their arrival from Svelera?"

"No, Sire. I haven't been able to access those records. However, it is my guess that it was either the Princess Margareta of Zorashia or one of the other prisoners that they had kept in the castle." Tomas gritted his teeth slightly, before letting out a quiet sigh. "It is hard to find anyone willing to talk. Mr Vuillon has spies and watchers everywhere. Sire, I suggest you watch yourself closely, he is a man who would do anything to earn himself more money. He is the man who took over this entire western district of the city by just using rigged gambling to establish himself and draw more people in."

"I've think I've had the pleasure of meeting him." Yuuri's own expression darkened, remembering the initial fight they had witnessed earlier that evening and the rotund man who had laughed at the misfortune of those around him. "Keep trying to locate anything you can about this matter and also about Geigen Huber." He squeezed the man's shoulder again in thanks. "You have outdone yourself, Tomas. Thank you for this."

"It is an honour to serve, Sire." Tomas's expression showed genuine gratitude for the trust that had been placed in him, having found in the King a man whom believed in his capabilities and respected him. "May Shinou continue to offer you good luck in all your endeavours."

"And may he do the same for you."

Tomas was soon slipping out through the shadows and down one of the numerous alleyways down by the dock, vanishing once more into the crowds.

Yuuri was soon stepping out as well, smiling at Greta when she looked up to see him again, his heart warming at the sight of her small smile of greeting. Moving across the bustling street, he was reaching out to smooth back the mop of reddish-brown curls that sat on top of her head away from her face. "How about a hot meal before we go searching for your friend?"

The King however felt a hand suddenly touch against his elbow and his gaze jerked to the face of the pretty blonde whom he had rescued earlier smiling up at him.

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it, his dark eyes sweeping across her face with concern. "I..."

"No. Thanks to you." The blonde looked a touch uncertain, her gaze drifting down to where Greta had tucked herself in close to Yuuri's side, her fingers curled in the edges of his dark blue jacket. "May I... pay for that meal for the both of you... as a thank you?"

"Seeing you safe and uninjured is thanks enough." It always touched his heart to know that he had helped another person with his own two hands. "Let me buy you dinner and a hot drink, I'm sure it would make Greta happy if you joined us."

The little girl nodded slightly, smiling up at the blonde woman.

Soon all three of them were sitting beneath the awning of the stall, Yuuri slipping several bronze and tin coins across the counter top and smiled at the vender. "Three of your best and keep the change." The King had learned quickly that they were more likely to get better and faster service if you did provide a little monetary incentive, even though he hated greed like that, he could understand how every coin mattered far more to people like this who did not have the resources that Yuuri had been provided with.

"Comin' right up, good Sir." Three steaming wooden bowls were soon being set before them. "Here you are."

Yuuri gazed down at it and couldn't help but smile, inhaling deeply the oddly familiar scents of spaghetti soup drifted up to his nose and it made him think for a moment of Japan. Using the chopsticks provided, he was eating carefully, savouring the familiar favours and definitely thinking that he would have to request this at Covenant Castle for himself and Conrart one night.

"If I may ask, who were those men who were troubling you earlier?" A fingertip touched against the handkerchief Greta had tied around his right hand, still feeling the slight sting from his bruised knuckles. "They spoke about you wishing to quit?"

"That's right, my job was helping to pull off scams at the casino."

"Scams." The man sighed softly, rubbing his fingers over his eyes and his gold and silver ring caught the light of the noodle stall's bright lantern hanging overhead.

"Yup, I'm afraid so." She looked deeply troubled by it, her fingers curling slightly, eyes glancing away from Yuuri's. "But it didn't really suit my style. Gambling when its honest is supposed to be intense with everything on the line. That's the thrill I crave, not the thrill of ripping people off." Her cheeks flushed a little, gaze finally meeting Yuuri's intense dark one. "Sorry about before... with your man. I have to admit though, you have extremely good taste."

"And don't I know it." Yuuri flashed her a charming little grin, expression softening. "I can understand a little of what you must feel... though what brought you to work in a town like this if you are uncomfortable with such things?"

"I can never go back home, I've tried..." "But you can't escape this place, it holds onto you with both hands. I left Svelera because of the drought... I thought I could find work somewhere else and I did... only to hear that Svelera is alive again. Do you know what I've heard? The Great Demon Kingdom is providing aid in rebuilding our country under the Prince's name, there's peace there. Real peace. The corrupt officials are in prison... and though the esoteric stones have run out, we now have a thriving agricultural sector. I want to go back." She gave a small smile to Yuuri. "The new Demon King is said to be a man who brought the rains... he cared for our people. Can you believe that? A Demon Tribesman caring about humans?"

Pausing, she flushed a little, wide brown eyes lifted to regard him with surprise. "Wow, can you believe we haven't even introduced ourselves yet. My name is Izula."

Now that got both Greta and Yuuri's full attention.

"That's the same as my mother's name!" Greta's bright eyes gazed into Izula's with interest.

"What?" Izula looked surprised as she stared down at the child beside her. "You couldn't possibly be... Let me take a look at your shoulder..." Her hand reached out and carefully slipped the fabric of Greta's white shirt down and away from her shoulder. Shock coloured her features as she studied the inked on word that ran down along Greta's upper arm and shoulder.

"My Mother and Father are in Svelera." Her chestnut brown eyes gazed up at Izula, as the woman stared back at her in wonder. "Unfortunately they are not my real mother and father... they didn't like me. It always seemed that I was a bother to them... they never had any time for me... so I was alone in that huge castle."

"I thought so..."

"Greta." Yuuri abruptly straightened, his obsidian eyes widening in sudden shock. "_Margareta_."

Now that made Greta turn back towards Yuuri, nodding slightly.

"Princess Margareta of Zorashia, cousin of Prince Reiner of Svelera." Yuuri wanted to striking his head against a wall for his own stupidity for not recognising the name sooner. "Your cousin has been frantic with worry for you."

"Rei?" That surprised Greta, her chestnut eyes widening with surprise. "Rei was... worried about me?"

"_Yes_. I have had men scouring countries in search of you, so many people have worried about your safety."

"...I..." The little girl didn't know quite what to make of it all.

"Greta, I need you to answer a question for me." Yuuri leaned in so that his eyes were at the same level as the little girl's, his expression serious. "Have you ever been to this city before, even for just a little while?"

"No." Her reddish-brown brows pressed together, her confusion evident.

"Things never like being simple." And that left Yuuri wondering exactly who it was that Louis Vuillon was holding from the fall of Conansia Svelera's last King. "My name is Yuuri." The man offered, realising that he hadn't offered anything in return after the startling realisation of exactly whom Greta was.

"Yuuri..." Izula swallowed hard, her lips pressing down into a tight line, worry creasing her brow. "Do you think... you could help me? I..." Her eyes glanced away and down. "I'm afraid that they caught Nina... in retaliation for me not going quietly."

"Where would they have taken her?"

"To Vuillon's home, he doesn't take kindly to girls... leaving him." A shiver ran through Izula's body and her expression told him exactly what would happen to Nina the moment Vuillon had time to 'see' to her.

"Then it looks like we are going on a rescue mission." Hopefully they would have a chance to meet up with Conrart before they got there, because right now, there was a woman in danger and he couldn't hesitate to act.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, it's so late." Conrart Weller handed over the small wrapped letter, wrapped in a bright crimson binding, offering Ryan a small smile. "Here's your severance pay."<p>

"Thanks," Ryan held it tightly, actually surprised that he had even been given it considering he had practically gone AWOL from the army on such a dangerous mission. "I appreciate it." Turning around, he gazed into the darkness of the large circus tent. "Keiji!" He shouted, voice echoing through the darkness. "Guess what! I'm going to buy you a new costume!"

The large sand bear appeared out of nowhere, its heavy tread actually making everything around it vibrate, for some reason when not hungry, sand bears were _ridiculously_ adorable. Keiji looked rather pleased with the news, oddly seeming to understand exactly what Ryan had said.

Ryan stretched out his arms as he regarded Keiji with a bright smile. "Something really feminine, with ruffles and frills to show off your lovely figure."

Keiji released a sound that was a cross between a person groaning and a pig, before shifting forwards, looking quite delighted over the rather odd piece of news. Mouth suddenly descending straight down over Ryan's head and swallowing it whole.

Conrart's eyes widened ever so slightly, jaw dropping a little in response, though he quickly shut it.

"So you're happy to hear it, huh?"

"Ryan... are you alright? Doesn't that... hurt you?" He wanted to wince, personally knowing just how much sand bear saliva burned when it touched the skin.

"No, not at all." The man's voice was muffled by the fact that his head was currently encased within the jaws of a carnivorous creature which could take said head clean off his shoulders if it wanted to. "This is what they call the blissful pain of love." The former soldier actually turned, both his wrists resting against his hips in a thoughtful gesture.

"By the way, Captain, we've been having a problem with a troublemaker lately in these parts. He shows up from time to time and if he spots a skilled swordsman, he attacks, no matter who that person might be." The man's face was pressing against the interior of the bear's lips, drool slowly beginning to run down over the skin of his neck and chin. "This is where it gets strange, I could have sworn it was Lord Geigen Huber... but I must be mistaken. I mean I'm familiar with his skill, Captain, but... he was dressed as a bodyguard, one I've seen hanging around the main casino."

If Conrart recalled Ryan's previous postings, he had served during Geigen Huber's active military career in one of his units. It was quite possible... _Yuuri_. A cold jolt of something ran through him at the thought. No matter Yuuri's skill, Geigen Huber was a good match at present for him and Yuuri was out in the city. The chill crept into his blood as he realised, Geigen Huber had been there when they had arrived, the man who had so quickly disarmed that outraged patron. The man had stared right at him... there had been recognition in that one teal blue eye.

Without another word, Conrart was heading outside at a dead run as panic slowly began to run through every nerve in his body.

* * *

><p>Wolfram grumbled as he ran, boots sounding loudly off the salt etched stone of the docks, his jaw gritting together in annoyance. He had come on this trip to be of use to someone, but he had ended up being left behind once more as his brother went out to do only Shinou knew what and Yuuri and Greta went to find some mysterious man in the heart of this human city.<p>

"Brother!" Wolfram called out, his green eyes a touch stormy and couldn't help but growl out his frustration.

A large ship rose upwards on his right, the wood creaking softly as it bumped against the stone wall of the dock as the sea swept it up and back with each incoming wave. A dark shadow stood on its bow, one eye tracking the movements of the pure blooded Demon Tribesman.

Wolfram suddenly jerked to a stop, feeling that gaze upon him, his hand immediately dropped down to the hilt of his sword, eyes scanning his surroundings. A shudder rippled up along the blonde's spine, every single hair on his body feeling an awareness that he was alone and being hunted.

"Who goes there?" He demanded furiously.

Suddenly a silhouetted figure launched himself across the blazing circle of the full moon, blade flashing as it cleared its sheath and was coming straight down towards Wolfram's head. Wolfram's blade met his attacker's with a ringing clang of metal on metal, the force of the impact almost knocking the younger man off his feet. It forced Wolfram into a momentary retreat, before he lunged forwards, striking high, but feeling the man's power in each responding swing.

The man smirked at him, lips quirking upwards at one corner as he stared at Wolfram with one intense teal blue eye. His blade lifted and came down with one powerful stroke against Wolfram's sending the blonde into retreat. Blow after blow sent him back one more step along the docks, wrists screaming from the brutal meeting of their blades.

Suddenly a low strike, sent him wildly off-balance and his blade spinning up and out of his hands to impale itself deeply between two cracks in the thick stone slabs that made up the dock. Wolfram twisted sharply, diving to reclaim his fallen sword, when he felt the cold sting of metal touch against the side of his neck as he rested on his knees.

"Look at you." The man growled out, his one teal eye flickering with something akin to disappointment and regret. "Still not good enough." Still not good enough to finally end his suffering. His heart had been shattered long before, with the death of his Nicola, he could still remember the guard's words... the pain that had burned through him putting to shame what affects the esoteric stones had had on him.

Lord Griesela Geigen Huber turned away, his long charcoal grey hair sweeping freely around his shoulders, his long strides easily carried him away from Wolfram. His life clearly would not find its end at the hands of the young Tribesman... but there was another that might just finally be able to end the torment he lived with every second, the young dark eyed man who had been with Conrart. He had seen him in the streets, fighting to protect one of the young women, it was more than likely that man might just have the skill to finish him off. The sickening knowledge however remained that he didn't have the strength to end his own life by his own hand and he was choosing the coward's way out by doing everything within his power to get someone to end it for him.

He didn't even have the stomach to turn to the man he knew could finally end his life, Conrart Weller would be able to end him. Yet, he could not look into those cinnamon eyes and truly face the burning guilt over what he had done to the man. He had stolen away the one woman Conrart had loved in his own selfish act to gain glory.

Wolfram trembled with rage and indignation, his hands clenching into fists as he turned to stare at the man's retreating back. "Hold it right there, we're not through yet!"

Geigen Huber kept walking not even slowing.

"Here me, all particles who dwell in flame I summon you!" The blonde's hand lifted, fingers spread as he reached towards the blazing element that simmered deep within his blood. "Obey the Demon Tribe who destroyed the Originators!" A flush spread across his cheeks as he felt rage and embarrassment add to the initial burst of power he felt responding to him. He sent the whirling fireball towards the back of his opponent and watched as it fizzled out the moment it left his hand with dismay.

"Did you actually think that your magic would work in the human world?" The masked warrior almost snickered. "What a fool."

Geigen Huber was fading into the deep shadows that lived along the length of the docks, when he sensed rather than heard the approach of another warrior. It was only moments before he heard the fast pound of boots against stone, the jangle of a sword in its belt.

Conrart appeared out of the darkness, his eyes fixed on Geigen Huber, knowing that if he for a moment lost sight of the man he might never again find him. Practically flying past Wolfram, he continued on, eyes tracking the one-eyed Demon Tribesman in the darkness.

"Lord Weller, you're here!" Wolfram was startled as his brother didn't even pause but continued past him. "Wait!" He pulled his sword from the stone and slipped it back into his belt as he followed desperately after his brother, worry soon jolting through him to see Conrart so focused like that.

Conrart didn't stop, or even slow down for a moment, fear sliding through him that Geigen Huber might just be going after Yuuri.

* * *

><p>The door creaked on its hinges as Yuuri let it swing open, his obsidian eyes gazing down into the darkness and scanned for the woman they had come looking for. She was there, sprawled against the cold stone floor close to the far wall. Shadows played across the walls of the cold, dank space, stuffed and mounted creatures covered every possible surface, their heads displayed like trophies... including one that made his heart ache. A dragon's head hung on a wall just near the door, his palms actually tingled in response, heat sparking along the scarred flesh.<p>

"Nina!" Izula was running towards the woman, one that Yuuri recognised as being the brown haired woman from earlier that night, the one whom had seemed a little ill. She crouched down beside the woman, a hand lightly touching against her back as Yuuri approached.

Nina roused slightly, dull violet eyes staring up at Izula. "Izula..." She was breathless, a wheeze escaping her lips, one that showed just how sick she had become sprawled across the cold floor with minimum protection from it. "So... you failed after all. I told you so."

"No. I didn't... we came to get you." Her expression was deeply troubled, her eyes flickering to Yuuri's face and clearly wishing to ask for help, but knew she had already asked too much just getting to Nina in the first place.

The King settled on his knees beside her, his hand reaching out to lightly touch her forehead and felt the burning heat against his cool palm, knowing that this fever might just kill her.

"Could you heal her, Yuuri?"

Obsidian eyes widened slightly as he stared into the face of Greta, his heart in his throat over the fact that the little girl wasn't on her way back to the Inn where she could be safe with Wolfram and they could sort everything out before finding who she was looking for. "_Greta_." His hand stretched out and cupped her chin lightly, staring into her wide chestnut eyes. "What are you doing in here? You..."

"I... I was scared... you'd get hurt too..." Her fingers curled into her dress, those eyes darting away from his.

"I'm fine, Little One." Sighing, he wrapped an arm around her trembling body and pulled her close against his own, hugging her for one long moment, hoping to reassure her. "I can do what I can for her... if she will let me."

Izula's brown eyes widened at those words, uncertain exactly who Yuuri was. "How?"

A hand reached up to lightly tug off the brown and black leather cap that rested on top of his head, long raven strands spilled down wildly about his shoulders as they were freed. His rich obsidian gaze meeting Izula's again for one long moment as she stared at him in shock and wonderment. "I want to help, Izula, but I won't force anyone to accept it. _Nina_." His voice was gently, his eyes sweeping over the terrified face of the woman before him and knew no matter how much he wished to help, the moment he attempted to touch her she would scream and bring the guards down on top of them.

The terror in Nina's face cut at his soul, but there was nothing he could do about that.

"Sire!" The soldier who had been guarding Greta came down the stairs, his face a touch flushed from the run. "Forgive me... I..."

"All is fine. I'm sure Greta is quite skilled at evading guards." One brow lifted as he gazed down at the little girl before gesturing the man forwards. "Take Miss Nina and Miss Izula to the Inn and call for one of the doctors for Miss Nina."

"Yes, Sire." The dark haired soldier was coming forwards, dropping to one knee to scoop up the woman, he was lifting her into his arms and shifting her head against his shoulder. "I will guard them both with my life, Sire."

"You... really are the Demon King?" Izula gazed at Yuuri with wonder. "You... I never thought..."

"I know. I'm an odd King." A low chuckle escaped him, remembering Alford's words. "I've been told that before." His dark eyes however grew serious when they met those brown ones. "Let me help you get home, Izula. I... I want to help."

"Thank you." She breathed.

"Can you do me one favour?" Yuuri knew that he could trust Izula, she had been honest with him and she was trustworthy he knew. He gently drew Greta forwards, needing to make sure the little girl was out of harm's way. The King could already feel the tingling rush of something fluttering up through him, the promise of something to come and the last thing he wanted was for the little girl to be caught in the middle of it. "Protect Greta for me."

"No." The little girl was clenching her hands in the edge of his jacket, gazing up at him with wide chestnut eyes. "Please..."

"Sweetheart." His hand stroked her hair back from her face, lightly touching a finger to her cheek. "I need you to look after Nina and Izula for me, can you do that?"

Her small hands clenched a little, before loosening slightly. "...I..."

"I need to know you're safe, Greta. There is something I have to do right now... but I'll be back later tonight and we'll be able to go looking for your friend together."

Izula gently curled one hand around the little girl's, drawing her close to her side. "We'll both be fine and soon Nina will too." Brown orbs watched Yuuri, nodding slightly and drawing Greta along with her. "We'll be waiting for your return, Sire." Izula hesitated for a moment, her eyes meeting those of the King. "I... I didn't want to mention this earlier... but... Sire, several months ago, I overheard a conversation... and my name was spoken by Vuillon... to a man and a woman... ones I thought could be whom she spoke of." Her gaze flickered downwards towards Greta, then back up at him. "I thought nothing of it at the time, but... now I... I think..."

Yuuri almost jolted at the news, suddenly coming to a rather horrible conclusion as to exactly whom it was that the King and Queen of Conansia Svelera had sold to Louis Vuillon who was worth enough to get them all the way to Big Cimaron on a private vessel. It was... a sickening one. "Thank you for telling me."

And with one more soft sound of protest from Greta, the little girl was being drawn away by Izula alongside the guard who was carrying Nina. Out the door and hopefully to safety.

* * *

><p>"Damn it." Conrart hissed, his cinnamon eyes swirling silver, his hands clenching into fists as he stared at the building before him, jaw clenching.<p>

"Who the heck is that guy? What are you so worked up about?" Wolfram asked as they both stood outside of Vuillon's casino, his green eyes staring at his brother's face and attempting to make sense of exactly what was going on with him.

"Excuse me, but might you two be...?" A familiar voice almost startled them out of their own skin, Lord Heathcrife's head bowed in greeting to the two familiar Demon Tribesmen before him, his clean shaven scalp gleaming brightly until he replaced his hat and wig. "Many pardons." He looked a touch amused by their reactions, but his focus was however on the older of the two Tribesmen.

"Lord Heathcrife." Conrart greeted the man, the tension in his body relaxing at the familiar face.

"Lord Conrart Weller, I didn't know you had already arrived in town. Though I must say, it is good to see you in such good health, I have been looking forwards to our meeting for quite some time." The human's brown eyes softened a little, though both brows lifted ever so slightly in question over the fact that they were standing outside of a casino. "I am surprise to see you here, I'm here to have a talk with the promoter of this amusement district as I have a number of concerns regarding his illegal business practices."

"Yuuri is here." The half-breed's voice was so soft the other two barely heard the words escape as Conrart was already striding forwards into the brightly lit interior, even when his body shuddered in revulsion when a small wave of nausea burned its way up from his gut. He could feel his beloved, like a warmth attempting to draw him in closer.

Heathcrife looked puzzled by the reaction and turned to Wolfram whom just shrugged a little in response.

"Trust me... it's better not to ask. If my brother says he's here... he's here."

* * *

><p>Yuuri leaned against the wall just inside one of the rooms, the door open just enough for him to see out and into the corridor. There were a number of shuffling footsteps, heavy items being moved up and down the hallways, several passing by the door before him. His mind was still reeling from all that he had been told this very night.<p>

From what Prince Reiner had told him, from all reports the Prince's aunt, Greta's mother had been reported killed soon after Greta had been taken as a hostage by Reiner's parents. It had been Duchess Izula's hope that her daughter would be protected by her family, but instead her daughter had been ignored and treated like nothing. Her mother... his heart ached for the suffering the woman must have endured if she had instead been brought to the capital instead of killed during the Sveleran-Zorashian war. However, it seemed like something that pair would do, holding a woman imprisoned, knowing that her child wasn't far away... but she could not reach her.

Yuuri was certain the woman was somewhere in the city. Where... he didn't know, but he was quite determined to find out and there was one man who held all of the answers. Louis Vuillon. The human was going to _supply_ them.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me, pardon the intrusion."<p>

The pair of double doors swung open before Lord Heathcrife, the man flanked by Wolfram and the extremely observant Conrart whom had stopped as suddenly as he has started and fallen into step behind Heathcrife without explanation.

"Look, Mr Vuillon, you know my issues and I want to settle this matter tonight." Heathcrife's jaw clenched ever so slightly, not willing to stand by as Schildkraut turned into nothing but a slum and a place with no hope at all for its citizens.

"What? You again?" The man looked frankly bored as he sat behind his desk, his dull colourless eyes stared at them. In his hands, a lobster chittered softly, its long antennae flailing slightly. "If you only came to talk about that, then don't waste your breath. You're completely out of luck."

It was in that moment, Yuuri stepped through the doorway, his dark eyes widening in surprise as he realised that Conrart, Wolfram and Heathcrife were already there. He almost wanted to laugh, seeing as they had all found their way there at the same time.

Wolfram's green eyes narrowed and his face flushed with sharp colour when his gaze focused on the rather familiar man who leaned against the wall to one side. His jaw clenched in silent rage at the fact that he had been so quickly and easily defeated in battle by a _human_.

The masked bodyguard's lips quirked upwards at one corner, teal blue eye glimmering in the darkness.

"Why you!" Wolfram barked out in anger, gripping the hilt of his sword when he was already advancing on the man, not stopping for a moment to consider anything other than his own rage.

"_Wolfram_!" Yuuri snapped out with a sickening horror realising the moment he heard Conrart call out as well exactly who the masked man was. It was the colour of the man's hair, the same charcoal grey as Gwendal's and the way the man moved when he pushed himself off the wall. "NO!"

The young blonde swordsman had already withdrawn his sword from its sheath, charging his adversary with a battlecry on his lips, but before his blade could meet that of his enemy, the man had dodged, going straight after Yuuri whom stood in the doorway behind a startled Conrart.

It was a blur of motion, so fast the eye couldn't follow it as Conrart became aware of the threat and had his blade out meeting the attack, just as Yuuri was knocked backwards by Conrart's motion as he stepped in front of the slender King . A sharp ring of steel on steel filled the dimly lit room, as the blades of two of the Great Demon Kingdom's finest swordsmen met in battle. Anger flared within Conrart, his heart burning fiercely with emotion over the fact that Geigen Huber was attempting to go after their King. He was holding onto his emotions, desperately attempting to forgive the action, to not go after the man's life for drawing a blade against his beloved.

"Conrart!" Yuuri was on his feet within moments of been knocked down, the cap having fallen to the floor when he had been knocked back accidentally by Conrart, raven black hair framed his face as he moved forwards again. "Love, no!"

"If you don't fight me full on right now," Geigen Huber growled out, that single eye narrowing on where Yuuri stood, not quite seeing him, but acknowledging his presence. "If you don't kill me right here, right now, who knows what's going to happen to your precious brat."

And his grip on his control shattered with those carefully chosen words.

Not a speck of brown remained in the blazing silver irises that startled Geigen Huber for only a moment, Conrart letting out a furious roar of challenge. No longer did he draw back his strikes, going after the other man with everything he was, becoming the protective lion that would slaughter any who dared to threaten his mate. Their blades met again and again, Geigen Huber actually staggering backwards under the fierceness of the blows raining down on him.

The dark haired man parried a blow and charged towards the younger man still by the door, his blade raised high ready to strike down the man, knowing that Conrart would be fast enough to stop him.

Obsidian eyes stared at him, horror blanketing his features, his hands reaching out to stop him. "_Griesela_."

How could this be happening? They had finally found him, finally located the man for Nicola... but... he was wanting to die. Why? Why would he do this? From what he had heard of the man from Nicola... he would never do this.

His gaze lifted and he saw the flash of the blade, his heart screaming in horror. "CONRART NO!"

It was too late.

Geigen Huber turned, spinning around, blade raised, keeping his body between Weller and his lover just in case and felt the blade make contact, cutting deep through flesh and organs. Blood sprayed into the air in a fine sickening mist. For one horrifying moment, he stood there, staring into the silver eyes of the man he had wronged so many times in the past. Three honest words past from between his lips as he crumpled. "I'm... so... sorry."

The dark haired bodyguard sprawled across the floor, his helmet splitting in half, clattering away as long locks fluttered down around his face as he sprawled at Conrart's boots. The fingers clenched around his sword slackened and he lay still, blood slowly spreading across the floor soaking into the carpet, staining it a deep red.

"No!" Yuuri was shoving the fallen sword aside, hurriedly rolling the man onto his back, yanking his jacket over his head, the fabric was pressed hard against the wound, staunching the dark flow of blood that seeped from the deep sword wound. "What in hell did you think you were doing?" Yuuri snapped at the now unconscious man.

Yuuri's fingers slipped between the edges of the blood soaked fabric and the man's deep wound, trembling as he felt the extreme damage that had been done to his body. His dark hair fanned down around his face as he was tugging the man's clothing free, baring the scarred skin to his view and revealing the extent of his injuries. Sparks of magic flickered and flared as he summoned his powers, thrusting the useless jacket aside and pressed both palms over the long wound. He could feel the man's heart stutter.

"_Conrart_." Yuuri's voice was frantic, his obsidian eyes wide as they stared up at his beloved with desperation. One hand reaching out and curling around Conrart's, fingers streaked wetly with freshly spilt crimson blood. Drawing the man's larger hands down and lacing their fingers, his thumb tucked against Conrart's wrist, feeling the steady pound of his lover's pulse and forcing his magic to make Griesela's match it.

"Yuuri... I..." Conrart trembled slightly, his silver streaked eyes gazing into his beloved's as he knelt on the other side of the fallen man.

"You were protecting me." He squeezed Conrart's fingers at that, before he was reaching out towards the warmth of something that flowed deeply through his husband's blood, using it to help his healing magic. "We need to keep him breathing."

"I paid good money to hire his so called special services." Louis Vuillon huffed out, clearly unaffected by the fact a man was bleeding out all over his carpet and was gasping for air, chest heaving as Yuuri was magically forcing his lungs to keep drawing in air and his heart to beat. "And he not only fails to guard me from a serious attack, but he ignores my orders."

"Are you so beyond caring that even this sparks nothing within you?" The Demon King's blazing obsidian eyes glared at the man who sat behind that desk, unfazed by the violence and its aftermath. "Are you truly nothing but a swindler looking for his next scam?"

"Being a double black is _quite_ unusual."

Yuuri almost wanted to laugh at the twisted monster that truly sat behind that desk, one who sounded like he wanted to make a bargain while his hands were halfway in a man's intestinal track, desperate to seal where the blood was seeping out. "What is it you want? What must be paid for you to stop this? For you to free all of those you hold in your clutches? _Izula_."

"Well now... you for one..."

"I will slit your throat myself if you suggest such a thing again." Conrart's jaw clenched painfully tight, silver eyes blazing in the human's direction, teeth bared in a silent snarl.

"Such a fierce guard you have there, well _trained_ too." Louis looked amused by it all. "A wager then."

* * *

><p><strong>HEHE! What did you think? I've always wondered why Hube wanted to die so badly, it did make sense that he thought Nicola dead and his heart along with her. Don't you think? <strong>


	23. Part 23: Wounds

**Author's Note: Enjoy! XD I really hope you like the added twists in this plot. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but Prince Reiner. **

* * *

><p><strong>Schildkraut, Wienne<strong>

"That is all I can do for him now." The human doctor slipped out of the room, "Take care of him." Though there was a look on his face saying he doubted the man would survive what was left of the night.

"Thank you, Doctor." Conrart rumbled , watching the man move down the corridor and down the stairs, before he was shutting the door and locking it from the inside.

Yuuri sat on the edge of the bed, one hand already spread over Griesela's stomach and lower chest, fingers pressing against the white bandages, a few flecks of crimson beginning to seep through between his fingertips. Magic stirred within him, soaking in through the man's skin and into the badly damaged flesh within. He could feel it, feel where the blade had cut through muscle and cut against some bone. Every drop of magic that seemed to slide into the man's body... seemed to seep back out somehow as if it were being rejected.

Greta sat on a chair beside Yuuri, her large chestnut eyes wide and deeply troubled, but she refused to shed a tear and distract the King as he worked to keep the man's heart beating with so little blood running through his veins. The man's skin was chalk white and almost translucent.

Yuuri's other hand reached out to slowly brush back the long hair that covered half of his face, that movement revealed the long terrible mass of scar tissue that ran from eyebrow to cheekbone, completely sealing over Griesela's left eye. His palm carefully covered that part of the man's face, fingertips sliding into his hairline and almost jerking back as he let out a low hiss of surprise, eyes staring down into the deathly still features.

Strong hands settled against Yuuri's shoulders, a hot mouth touching against his neck and slowly those arms coiled around his body, supporting his tired frame. "Easy, my Little Dragon." The words were whispered against his ear, cheek pressing against the curve of his throat.

"He's tainted." Shaking his head slightly, he pressed down more firmly, fingernails pressed into Griesela's skin. "I can feel it inside of him... gnawing at him... it's like in... Svelera." It was like a worm, burrowing itself deeper and deeper into the man's head... hungry and wanting to feed on the suffering and torment he was experiencing. "A shadow... hovering... lurking..."

_Burn it away._ It was the softest of whispers in his mind, one of the many that had echoed in his sleep since his encounters with the dragons. _Burn it away... and let it heal anew. _The scars that ran across his palm tingled lightly, the prickle of fire dancing across his nerve endings. He just couldn't yet find the spark on his own. _Fire to clean... ashes to nourish..._

"Wolfram."

Green eyes blinked open, the young man lifting his head from where it had dropped against a wall where he had drifted off into sleep only a few minutes before. "Mmmh?"

"I need your help."

"Sure..." The younger man roused himself enough to stand up from where he had been resting on the end of his bed, attempting to wake himself up more as he dropped onto the edge of the bed beside Yuuri, yawning softly and gazing at Yuuri with incomprehension. "What do you want me to do?"

"I need a spark."

Conrart straightened slightly, his grip tightening protectively around Yuuri, his brows drawing together. "Yuuri... the last time you handled fire..."

"I know." It had almost burnt him alive from the inside out, the magic of the dragons had been so potent it had almost destroyed him. "But I can't start it on my own..." Not something pure and elemental.

"Can't do much more than a spark," But the young man did as he had been asked, not in the mood to protest as he offered out one hand, fingers spreading as he whispered the summoning words to himself, tiny little flames dancing into like at the end of each fingertip.

Lifting his hand upwards from where it had been resting over Geigen Huber's scarred over left eye, he laced his fingers through Wolfram's, feeling the heat of the fire that uncoiled in response to his own unhindered magic. "Conrart... take Greta outside."

"Yuuri...?" Greta was on her feet, eyes shimmering with unshed tears before she abruptly found herself in Conrart's arms, the man not saying a word of protest as he understood what was about to happen.

Striding with the protesting child out through the door, he shut it firmly behind them, both hands wrapping around the girl's ears.

"This will hurt him." Yuuri's gaze met Wolfram's, his jaw clenching slightly, knowing that it horrified him as much as it did the younger man. "Can you do this, Wolfram?"

"I..." The Tribesman swallowed hard and nodded.

The moment Wolfram's palm pressed against that ugly scar, the sparks of flame ignited and screams filled the air from Geigen Huber's lips as Yuuri dragged that darkness from within the man's body where it had escaped to, burning it into nothingness. A fine black mist shimmered upwards from their twined hands, before fading into nothingness.

And it was a long time before the screams stopped.

* * *

><p>"Greta." Conrart knelt before the girl as she sat on the bed beside where Yuuri was curled up on the sheets, his features drawn and his body exhausted from the effort of keeping Geigen Huber alive through the night. The first light of morning glimmered from between the curtains, sweeping across a little of the floor, showing that they didn't have as much time as they needed. "I need to know how you came by this."<p>

Slipping the metal medallion from his pocket, he offered it out to the young girl, watching as she carefully curled both hands around it and drew it close to herself.

"How do you know Geigen Huber?"

"He was my only friend, in the castle, he was the only one who would talk to me." Her chestnut eyes shimmered with pain, her head dipping and she drew comfort from the slow stroke of one of Yuuri's scarred hands over her head. The gentle caress eased her sorrows and allowing her to keep talking around the lump that had formed in her throat. "I was so lonely and it was wonderful to have someone to talk to. He was imprisoned in the underground dungeon there."

Her lips turned upwards into a small smile, at a fond memory. "Hube would listen to everything I had to say. He liked my visits. Then one day, he told me about himself."

_"Was it something really bad?" _

_"Yes." His voice was a hoarse, pained whisper. "I did something so horrible that it cannot be undone. Something so horrible that it eats away at my soul and makes me ashamed." _

_"What?" _

_He spoke for a long while, speaking words that he had never dared say to another soul. "...And after I did that, the next mission I was given was my sole salvation. I wished so badly to forget the past that I became absorbed in my work. Then I met someone I could love with all my heart. For a moment I believed I could forget the darkness, but I was pulled away from her loving arms and now I rot in this prison cell. I learned to my sorrow that I'm not allowed to seek happiness... that all I love... dies..." His fingers trembled, his entire soul bared in that one moment for the world to see. The guilt and grief that burned a hole into his heart. "I learned that I can never be forgiven for my crime!" _

"Hube seemed so full of pain and sadness. That's why I helped him to escape from the dungeon."

"Gwendal spoke about that..." Yuuri's obsidian eyes drifted open. "That the guards before you arrived where talking about it. To think... we missed him and Greta by barely a few days..." His hand dropped back down onto the sheets and Conrart picked it up and cradled it in both of his own, fingertips stroking tenderly across the scars that ran across his palm.

"Please... keep going Greta."

"We found our way out of the castle and left together." Chestnut eyes dropped to stare at the other bed where Geigen Huber lay quietly beneath the sheets, half of his face a raw red and deeply enflamed, by the dark discolouration that had marred the skin had gone. The eyelid no longer fused to his cheek. "When I said I would like to go to the Great Demon Kingdom, Hube took me right to the border. Then he gave me something special." Her small hands lifted up the medallion, before swallowing hard. "He said he had to go find someone for me... he said I would be safe..."

Obsidian eyes glanced upwards to meet Conrart's cinnamon ones for one long moment. "What are the chances of Geigen Huber turning up in a city where... _they_ were reportedly seen? Where... she might be? Is it possible...?"

"It is quite probable. He did not wish for Greta to be alone." Was it truly possible that Griesela Geigen Huber had come to Schildkraut in search for Greta's mother, Izula?

"Only he can answer that question."

* * *

><p>Yuuri's eyes slowly fluttered open when he was settled onto something soft, his lips parting as he released a soft little sound of surprise. It was silenced by a long kissing that drove every thought out of Yuuri's head, his toes curled as he was practically devoured. Obsidian orbs tried to focus on the blur before him, but his exhausted mind admitted swift defeat.<p>

"Rest." Fingertips swept back Yuuri's long hair from his face, settling it across the pillow as Conrart allowed his mouth to wander a little over the pallid skin.

"What... time is it?" The King blinked again, letting out a soft groan and fought for a moment to push himself upwards but only found himself flopping back limply onto the mattress, his body refusing to answer his demands on it.

"Time for you to rest." The back of Conrart's fingers stroked down across one cheek, relieved when Yuuri's eyes were slowly beginning to drift closed again. The man was exhausted and needed the sleep, as much as the soldier wanted to settle himself beside his beloved on the appealingly empty spot beside the dark haired man, there was still much to be done. "Let me attend to this for you."

"I should... be... there."

"I can do this. You need to sleep and regain your strength, Geigen Huber will need you at full strength if he is to make the journey back to the Great Demon Kingdom."

"Why..." Yuuri's lips quirked upwards tiredly. "Do you... always win these... types of arguments?"

"Because I'm usually right." Conrart laughed in response, drawing the blankets up around Yuuri's body, smoothing them down around the man. A fingertip ever so tenderly brushed across one scarred palm, feeling fingers attempting to close around it. "_Sleep_, my Little Dragon."

"I should... start breathing fire..." Amusement coloured his voice, but his body was sagging backwards and his breathing was slowly and finally Yuuri drifted into a deep sleep.

Conrart sat there for a long moment beside the bed, his hand spread across the blanket covered chest and just felt the slow deep rise and fall of Yuuri's chest beneath his touch. "I was dead inside... until you came." He whispered lovingly, feeling the slowly beating heart fluttering there under his palm. "The thought of waking one day... and knowing that you are gone. I would not be able to live with myself. You are all that is precious to me, all that is good in this world." Leaning over the King again, his mouth lightly touched against his beloved's. "I love you, Yuuri Shibuya Weller. I love you with all my heart."

* * *

><p>Loud celebratory fireworks exploded in giant puffs of smoke overhead, drawing the attention of all those in the stadium and making them very aware of the fact that the race was soon about to be run.<p>

"Okay, Lady, here's your refill." The vender placed the bowl down before the red haired woman whom sat opposite him, though his eyes wandered over the striking beauty of the woman before him with silent interest.

Anissina was quickly eating up the steaming spaghetti and noodles, quietly admitting to herself that she was quite enjoying the fine taste of the human fare. Once the noodles were finished, she gently lifting the bowl upwards and quickly drank the soup that remained in the bottom of it, relishing the seasonings that brushed over her tastebuds. "Not bad." She responded as she set the bowl back down onto the bench before her.

"Hey, you're quite a good little eater there, Pretty Lady." The vender practically beamed at her. "Are you also here to watch the unusual beast race today?"

Now that perked her interest, her head cocking ever so slightly to the sides, while she studied the human before her. "Unusual beast race?"

"Don't you know about it? Everyone's been betting on the horse-race... I mean, the beast-race. Boy, people have been betting like crazy."

Curious blue eyes studied her surroundings. "How interest. That explains all this commotion." Looking quite thoughtful, she eyed the seven now empty bowls before her and the human vender. "It looks quite interesting. I came here for the women's status improvement enlightenment movement. We have a lot to accomplish, but my budget just ran out."

"Really now?" The vender's eyes widened ever so slightly, looking oddly like a fish in that moment, eyeballs bulging . Leaning forwards, he smiled thoughtfully. "Listen up, I'll let you in on a little bit of insider information."

"That will not be necessary."

He looked startled at that. "Huh?"

She slipped two dice from a pocket and lifted them between her fingertips with a proud smile. "Voila! Magic-powered future-prediction cubes. With these, I'll know the outcome of the race before its even started."

Now that made the vender stare in fascinated shock.

"Here we go!" And she allowed the dice to drop into the now empty bowl before her and both of them ended up face up, gleaming in the brilliant sunshine with a silent promise of her victory written there.

* * *

><p>Conrart was seated in the private box area alongside, Wolfram, Heathcrife and Louis Vuillon. One of his eyebrows raised slightly as he studied the three men who had accompanied the human exploiter, each one of the rather repulsive thugs looked like he had been beaten within an inch of his life. The tallest of the three looked like he was about to fall over, his bared knees were darkly bruised in several key spots and it almost made him smile. He knew exactly who it was that had taken on these three thugs and it explained the reddened knuckles on both of his beloved's hands.<p>

"...Look at all the happy spectators gathered here, they are looking forwards to the race." Vuillon's eyes practically gleamed with the thought of just how much money he was making on this very day and all the things that would come with it. "It's a mass instinct to want to gamble, you see. You'll be changing your tune before long, my friend."

"If we win you must stick to the agreement arrived at earlier." Heathcrife's jaw clenched slightly, his fingers curling against his knees and feeling rage boiling up within him finally knowing the scope of some of this man's crimes. "You will completely give up the right to control business in the western district, release those that you hold in your custody and the other concessions you have promised to made."

"Do you think that it will all happen that easily for you?" His fingers clasped before his face, the man looking quite thoughtful in that moment. "After all, you haven't seen our special entry. I can already imagine just what I can do with all that new space..." His fingertips tapped together, gaze flickering to Conrart for a long moment almost appreciatively. "It is a shame that Double-black wasn't on offer, I would have offered you so much more in exchange... if only."

A low menacing sound escaped Conrart's throat, his eyes narrowing on Vuillon, the swirl of steel silver promising the man's death if he even considered any action against Yuuri.

"You're totally out of luck, I can't lose." Vuillon was practically crowing, beady eyes alight with a sickening pleasure. "Ah look, here comes my player now. He's so magnificent."

Two teams of a dozen men each where drawing out a massive trunk on a wagon from one of the entry ways onto the large grassed track. As the long trunk cleared the entrance way, a large grey creature sat clinging to one end of it, though it looked quite harmless each of the men recognised just how deadly this particular beast was.

Conrart's jaw clenched itself, his fingers curling tightly and remembered the deeply trusting expression of his beloved as he drifted off to sleep not an hour before on their bed back at the Inn. Failure in this... was _not_ an option. No matter if they had a 'plan B' about freeing Duchess Izula of Zorashia from Louis Vuillon... the man would gain more of a strangle hold on this city, something that no one could truly afford to happen.

"You must already know the outcome of any challenge you make against me."

"You haven't won _yet_." Wolfram muttered, scowling at the human.

"There is our entry now."

Conrart leaned forwards slightly to gaze down at the Demon Tribesman and sand bear that were just entering the arena, Ryan and Keiji had been very willing and keen to help out the Demon King in this particular venture. Ryan paused and saluted Conrart, back straightening and looking proud to be able to still serve his country even in this odd fashion.

Louis Vuillon stood, lifting a crude megaphone to his mouth as he addressed the crowds that packed into the stadium, leaving no space at all between the members of the roaring crowd. "Attention everyone, today's race is about to begin! From the O'Sullivan Showcase Booth, Keiji, the sand bear versus Hell Paradise Goala privately owned by myself, Louis Vuillon. Now I remind you all that the first party to complete one lap around this track will be declared the winner.

"Get on your marks!"

A shot rang out, signalling the beginning of the race.

Keiji took off with surprising speed from the start line, massive body lumbering along quite agilely despite his large size. Ryan sat perched across the animal's neck and shoulders, holding on tightly as he rode, though his brown eyes looked troubled when he glanced back towards where two men had only started sawing through the log that held the Goala.

Suddenly there was a heavy thump, the ground trembling as the log dropped forwards, angering its occupant and turning the peaceful looking grey Goala into a raging rabid beast. It furious snarling and gaping jaws just seemed to make the crowd cheer louder in response to its aggression. With a gnash of its foaming mouth, it was sprinting after Keiji, moving with surprising speed for a creature of its size, though its eyes were clearly focused on the large bouncing rear of the racing sand bear, glittering with extreme hunger.

"Catch up to them and eat the fresh meat!" Vuillon's fingers were clenched, eyes bright with that strange glimmer of lust for more than just power and riches. "If you eat them, there won't be an opponent to be the victor!"

And Conrart stiffened at those words, aware that there was something else going on beyond all of Vuillon's words. This man wouldn't be giving up so easily on some things... not when he had seen what he wanted. He was pushing himself to his feet, but felt a cold clammy hand curl around his wrist.

"Do not think of leaving so soon, Mr Weller." Vuillon gave them a slippery little smile. "The race hasn't even finished yet..."

* * *

><p>Yuuri leaned against the wall just within the shadows of the alleyway, his obsidian eyes watching as a dozen ruffians were running down the street towards the inn where they had been staying. Shouts soon followed, the men discovering that their party had already abandoned its lodgings quickly before they had been able to corner them. The dark haired King wrapped his arm a little more tightly around Geigen Huber's waist, keeping the man upright with effort, feeling the slow seep of dampness leaking through the thick bandages wrapped around his chest.<p>

His head lifted at the sound of boots scuffing against the damp stone of the filthy alleyway, dark eyes meeting those of one of his guards. The man hurried forwards to slip beneath the wounded man's other arm, helping to lift some of the weight from Yuuri's shoulders. "I need you to take him to the ship, _Arvasis_." Yuuri rubbed his free hand across his face, rubbing at the sweat that was dripping down into his eyes. "Captain Regan should be willing to give you shelter. Stay with him. Stop the bleeding with pressure on the wound... Reegan should have a doctor onboard."

"Sire... what about you?"

"I need to create a diversion, one big enough to keep all of you out of harm's way." Yuuri knew that if one of those people who was important to him ended up being captured and held by Vuillon he would do practically anything to get them back and he didn't want it to come to that. "Greta, Izula and Nina should be waiting there."

"Lord Weller told us to remain with you." The soldier's face showed he was torn between his conflicting orders. "Sire..."

"Do not question my orders." Obsidian eyes flashed slightly, his fingers pressed against Geigen Huber's wound, attempting to seal off the new pulls in the man's stitches, or at least slow them enough that the man could be gotten to safety. "I didn't come this far to lose anyone now."

Pausing for a moment, he stared hard into the man's eyes. "If none of us reach the ship before the high tide this evening, return to the Great Demon Kingdom." Allowing the second guard to shift under Geigen Huber's other shoulder, they steadied him as they drew him away. "He needs proper medical care. I can only do so much... and his beloved and their child is waiting for him."

"But..."

"Do not argue with me on this." His expression darkened and he stepped away, back into the shadows, his hand dropping to the hilt of his sword. "Just keep yourselves hidden and safe. I've got a Duchess to find."

* * *

><p>Keiji sprinted forwards, increasing speed as he went, entire body quivering with what was being asked of him, but determined to keep himself away from the gaping jaws of the monster just behind him. The sickening noises escaping the creature barely a few strides behind him, kept the sand bear going, fleeing the predator that hunted him.<p>

"Hahah! I've just about won!" Vuillon smirked over towards Conrart Weller whom he had caught by the wrist and he leered at the man with dark amusement glittering in his eyes. "I'll make out like a bandit on this race and I will reap the rewards from the _spoils_ I will collect."

Heathcrife's head jerked back and his hat and wig flopped backwards from his scalp and down onto the wood flooring behind him. His head practically shimmered golden in the sunshine, haloing his head. Hands coming before him, he sent out a prayer to any god that might just be willing to listen to them. "Oh Dear Lord in Heaven! Please spare those innocents."

The Goala launched itself, claws outstretched, body leaving the ground as it looked like it was ready to pounce on top of Keiji and Ryan when...

A branch appeared suddenly in its path, its limbs coiling around it like it was a lifeline and held fast, face pressing against the bark and looked so content in that moment it could have easily made you forget its appearance of moments earlier.

Keiji continued forwards towards line in a spectacular burst of speed, he was going to win the race no question. The crowds were roaring at the excitement of the match, though there were a few that were booing in frustration as they found themselves instant losers.

Wolfram's green eyes widened in shock, before he turned his head to regard Conrart with surprise showing on his face as he regarded the man before him, hoping that maybe he could give some kind of explanation for the rather sudden change in events. "Lord Weller, what just happened?"

"When a Goala spots its favourite kind of branch its natural instinct takes over and it stops everything and holds on." Conrart's hand reached down, fingers covering Vuillon's to pry the man's hand off his wrist with a powerful grip.

"What a shame. You had no knowledge of that?" Heathcrife smiled with a touch of amusement colouring his features, settling his hat back atop his head with a flourish.

"Shut up!" Vuillon was staring in horror at the smirking Heathcrife. "So a moment ago, you put on that whole worried act just to mess with my head?"

A soft chuckle escaped the human, before he watched as Keiji rushed across the finish line at record speeds for a sand bear. Heathcrife stood and turned to the man, his brown eyes narrowing on Vuillon's face.

"Honour your wager and hand over the deed as promised."

"I won't accept this mishap as winning!" The man's pudgy face was flushing his anger and outrage, the three bruised thugs hovering a little closer to him when he stood and faced off against Heathcrife and Conrart. "I demand a rematch. How dare you try to trick me like this!"

"As you can see for yourself on these legal documents." Heathcrife held up several that had been signed legally before a magistrate by Vuillon so that he could not back out of the deal without even more extreme legal repercussions that he was already facing. "You've placed your signature on this unusual beast race mutual consent form and also several other binding documents."

The grey haired man laughed to himself, his beady little eyes narrowing on Conrart's face with relish. "Do you really want the rights to this area that badly?"

The man's lips turned upwards into a smirk, his eyes levelling on Conrart with a dark humour glinting in their depths. "I shall admit defeat and give you what you bargained for. That is... if anything is left remaining for you to take." He lifted the starting gun into the air and fired it. The sound rang through the air, startling the men for just a moment.

Conrart's fist connected so fast with Vuillon's face his movements were a blur of motion. The force of his fist connection with the man's face was enough to slam him back and down onto the ground, driving the air from the man's lungs.

"Remember what I promised you if you so much as touched him." His voice was a low dangerous growl, eyes narrowing on him before he was ascending the stairs to the top of the racetrack stands.

Over several rooftops, long plumes of dark smoke rose into the air, uncoiling from the bowels of the casino and into the clear morning sky. "Smoke is rising from the vicinity of the casino."

"You plan to destroy the evidence of all your swindling and..." Heathcrife's features paled sharply as he stared at the man. "You _wouldn't_."

"I would." And with that, he smiled, despite the dark bruise beginning to form across one side of his jaw.

* * *

><p>Red hot flames spilled from every entry way to the building, silhouetting his body as he stood before it, feeling the waves of heat pouring off the burning structure. He could feel water rippling beneath his feet through pipes and the earth, yet it was not the element that whispered to him softly, not the one that had drawn him here unerringly. Fire throbbed through his veins, reminding him of the deadly power it held, volatile and hungry.<p>

Exhaustion still ate away at him, his magic drained from the healing of Geigen Huber the night before, his water magic required too much of him, but fire... It was begging for him to stretch out his hand and embrace it.

_Izula_. She was here. He could feel it, the pulse of her life force amongst the slowly collapsing walls of the building, her voice as she called for help. It was so odd to be able to feel her, sense her presence within the embrace of fire, Wolfram's element.

He could feel hands grasping at his clothing, while people attempted to pull him back and away from the growing inferno. All of their words were nothing but blurred together sounds in his ears, while the fire continued to roar, loud and long drowning everything and everyone out. Yuuri was no longer afraid of the waves of heat that rolled over him and sizzled against his skin, ashes seared his cheeks and stung his lungs and throat, but he wasn't aware of it.

The spirit of that stuffed dragon uncoiled itself from the stuffed remains that had once been in the basement of this house that existed off to one side of the casino. Its vivid indigo orbs blazed amongst the flames just before him, its sleek body moving towards him, head lowered, flames spilling from its mouth. He could see it, feel it as it answered his silent call.

"You were the one who aided me in the healing." Yuuri reached out a hand towards the creature, feeling its soul resinate with his own. "You... spoke to me."

_You are lonely, my King._ Those intense eyes focused on him, its jaws parting as flame spilled out and around Yuuri as he continued forwards into the intensity of the flames. _You grieve for the loss of our presence. I feel your pain, the part of you that is no longer complete._

"I didn't realise... what affect that connection would have on me." The dragons had taken part of his soul with them when they had vanished behind the wall of his enchantment spell. They had left him behind.

_We are both alone within the flames._ Its long muzzle lowered, heated breath fanning across Yuuri's face, tickling his skin. _However, you have someone you wish to protect. Let me be... what you need... Let me come home, my King. I cannot join the others... but..._

"Yes."

And he embraced the flames, no longer afraid of the power that lived within that element, feeling the flames of the dragon spill over his body, the long oath scars burning fiercely for several moments before the creature coiled itself within the King, settling across his skin. Its spirit easing the painful ache that had been tearing his soul apart for so long since that day the dragons had left. Head arching back, his arms stretched out and he could truly feel the life within the inferno.

The searing embers that fluttered down against his skin didn't even sting anymore, the heat no longer troubling him as much as it had.

"YUURI!" He could hear Conrart calling to him, hear the man's voice above the hissing snap of the flames. "YUURI!"

He didn't stop.

The entire front of the casino suddenly crumbled as its supports gave out as the flames destroyed every piece of wood built into the structure. The cracking and splintering wood spilled down over him, but incinerated upon contact with the shimmering wall of fire that cocooned him, keeping him protected from the blaze.

Slowly he began to draw the flames into himself, sapping the life out of the inferno while he entered the now emptied building, listening for the faintest of sounds. He could hear her... she was still alive, still within the building. His feet left the ground, the unfurled dragon wings of golden flame spreading out about him gaining strength while he fed off the heat, feeling it flowing into his body, filling him up to the brim and putting a strain on his body.

Wood creaked beneath his boots as he landed on the second floor, the blackened landing had been the first thing to be set ablaze, long watery marks lined the charred remains of the wood panelling that had lined the walls showing where accelerants had been added to parts of the blaze to keep it from going out.

"...He...lp... m...e..." It was the barest breath of sound, but it made his head jerk around.

His obsidian eyes blazing as they narrowed on the door at the end of the hallway, feeling the pulse of her lifeforce, the rapid beat of her heart amongst the licking flames. Moving swiftly, the still locked door slammed open with a concussion force of energy behind it, tearing the lock straight out of the doorframe in the same blast of hot magic.

Standing in the doorway, his dark hair fluttering around his face as flames wreathed his body, roiling along his arms in a halo of gold and red. However, his gaze dropped down to the thin body curled up on the floor, her dress in ruins, long reddish brown locks covered with soot and ashes. There was still life in her and he was dropping down to one knee beside her, one hand reaching out to slowly brush away her hair, the flames brushing harmlessly over her skin, his fingertips brushing against her pulse. A soft moan escaped her lips at the touch, body shuddering ever so slightly.

Carefully he lifted her up, cradling her against his body and gazing down into a face so like Greta's that there was no mistaking who this woman was. Izula's head bumped against his shoulder, when he slowly began to turn away from the room, the flames already hissing as smoke drifted away out the large empty windows where the glass had been blown out by the first rush of the fire through the building.

Slowly he moved back through the building, dampening the flames until they were nothing more than embers, the human woman resting safely in his arms. Magic that had soaked his body slowly flowed into her, tingling across her skin and easing the substantial damage that had been done to her lungs.

"_Your daughter is waiting for you, Izula._" His expression softened while he carried her out through the smoking ruins of what had been Vuillon's casino. "_It will be just a little longer._"

Long grey trails of smoky haze swirled around his booted feet when he stepped out onto the street, humans recoiling from the sight of him, their eyes widening at the Double-Black that regarded them with smoky obsidian eyes. However, the moment his eyes stopped on Vuillon a fierce rage almost exploded out of him as he clutched Izula protectively against his body, the flames dancing across her skin, but doing no harm.

"Oh... how magnificently rare..."

A roar of sound exploded from deep inside Yuuri's soul, the dragon letting out its own bellow of tormented rage in response to all the suffering it had experienced and for all those who had been left in this monster's hands.

Fire spread rapidly across the ground from the smouldering embers scattered around Yuuri's feet, the flames leaping into vibrant life, sending people darting back and away from Louis Vuillon as the man was encircled by walls of hungry fire. However, it was Yuuri's natural element that answered him then, springing out from the tears that wanted to run down his face in anguish for all the pain this man had caused for so many.

A water serpent lifted is head as it formed behind the cowering man, hissing as it bared razor-sharp fangs, wrapping itself tightly around Vuillon. It bodily lifted him off the ground, squeezing him like a boa constrictor tightening its coils around its prey. The creature was slithering forwards, steam rising a little from its body as it moved over scorched earth and hot stone, keeping a painfully tight grip on its prisoner.

"_I should allow these flames to consume you like they would have this innocent woman._" His voice was a low growl of sound, his obsidian eyes glimmered with hatred, feeling the emotion deep down within the core of his being. This man was barely able to contain the flood of emotions that simmered painfully in his blood. "_You have broken your word._"

"You cannot hold me!" Louis Vuillon squirmed and struggled like a worm on a hook, body flailing helplessly. "You have no right!"

"_I have every right._" Yuuri snarled in response. "_You will be answering for each and every one of your crimes against the citizens of Wienne and also those from Conansia Svelera. I assure you, Sveleran justice is merciful in comparison for what I would have done with you._"

Vuillon was abruptly released in a shower of water, the man dripping wet and gasping for air as he floundered on his belly like a beached whale.

A razor sharp blade pressed against the side of Vuillon's neck, cold steel resting right against the soaked human's pounding pulse. "Just give me a reason to end your existence."Conrart growled low, his eyes narrowing sharply on the cowering human as he hovered over him, keeping him there as he glanced towards Yuuri for one long moment, their eyes meeting and a jolt of awareness floated through both of them.

"Leave him to me." Heathcrife stood beside Conrart, a crowd of furious people right behind him and several soldiers that were already coming towards them, shackles in hand. "He will not be escaping justice this time."

* * *

><p><strong>Private Vessel, <em>Arvasis<em>, Schildkraut Harbour, Wienne**

Yuuri's head dropped back against the edge of the wooden bathtub, his long wet locks plastered against his scalp and his obsidian eyes blinked slightly as something softly brushed along one arm and shoulder. A sleepy smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, when lips found his own he let out a contented little sigh, sagging a little deeper into the cooling water.

"Anissina is waiting to speak to you." Conrart said softly, tending to Yuuri and cleaning away the soot and ashes that were smeared across the pale skin of their King.

"Anissina...?" Obsidian eyes blinked open slightly, a soft confused sound escaped him. "What is she doing here...?"

"Apparently she was here earlier at a women's enlightenment conference with funding she received from you."

"Oh..." The King's head tipped back, lips parting and practically begging for another kiss. "I remember her asking for funding a few weeks ago... I didn't realise this was where she would be."

The half-breed's head dipped, mouth covering Yuuri's and cupping one cheek with his fingers tenderly, tongue slipping past those warm lips and almost wanting to groan at the familiar taste of his husband. Relief still filled him to know Yuuri was unharmed despite everything he had been through. His fingertips stroked softly along his throat, lingering there for a few moments, feeling the slow steady throb of his beloved's heart beneath his touch. "You really are... my Little Dragon, aren't you?"

There was something about Yuuri's eyes, something that hadn't been there before, a flicker of burning coals just behind that infinite blackness. It was as if the empty space that had been within the Demon King had been filled back up again by something other than his own soul.

"Yes." Gaze unfocused as it remained fixed on Conrart's face, his hand stretched out, his hand being caught in one of Conrart's and a thumb traced along the scars that ran across the length of his palm. "It... he... is inside of me." Brows coming together after a long moment of thought, he tried to find the right words. "His soul... was trapped here. There was a stuffed dragon in Vuillon's taxidermy collection... he sensed me I think... the first time I was down there helping to free Nina. He... could not follow the others... he knew what they had done to me... the part of me that they took..."

"Does he pose any danger to you, Love?" Conrart's expression was deeply concerned, but he had seen that very morning exactly what happened when Yuuri harboured the soul of a dragon. His control of fire had been something even his mother had never managed, he had practically drawn the energy right out of the flames in order to put it out.

"No... _no_... he's been helping me."

"I believe you." The half-breed reassured softly.

"I feel complete again, I don't quite know how to explain it..."

"I think I understand." Though he was just grateful that Yuuri was once more whole again, that the achingly large gap that had been carved into his very soul had once more been filled. "I am just glad you feel a little better." Kissing the corner of Yuuri's lips, he let out a quiet breath, his eyes sliding over the man's face and taking in every inch of it.

A smile curved his lips. "I have to admit... I might just get attached to being carried around by you..." A fingertip traced the softness of his lover's lips, before lifting his hand just enough to be able to touch the scar that ran across one brow, teasing it with the edge of a fingernail. "I like it..."

"I like holding you." Finishing off cleaning the exhausted King, he was reaching down into the water and helping him to stand, rubbing him down with a large towel and scooping him up in his arms. "Talk to Anissina. I'll go talk to Heathcrife, I remember all you wished to ask him..."

Reality was conspiring against them. With two critically injured patients onboard and with only human physicians and Yuuri able to treat them, they needed to return to the Great Demon Kingdom without delay on the next high tide. Thankfully some small miracle had meant that Greta was sound asleep when her mother had been brought aboard. Izula had looked as if she had been through a war zone and it was more than likely that she had been. The two Sveleran women, Nina and the blonde Izula were tending to her physical needs and Yuuri had hired both to help with her and Greta's care.

Right now, what Greta needed was familiar faces and people she trusted once she was reunited with her gravely ill mother. However, Yuuri was grateful he could give the little girl back her mother, that child deserved happiness and love in her life.

Yuuri slipped on a pair of pants and one of Conrart's shirts, when he was finally set down near some dry clothes that didn't stink of smoke or something else. There was a soft knock on the door and a pair of chestnut eyes peeked around the edge of the doorway in at him.

"Greta."

The little girl let out a soft sob and suddenly flew at him, Yuuri wrapping both arms around her trembling shoulders, while she wrapped her arms around Yuuri's neck, holding onto him for dear life and refusing to let go until he embraced her as well. Her hot tears were sliding down against his neck, her fingers tightening in his shirt, while he remained on his knees to be able to hold her close to his chest. "Yuuri!"

"I'm alright, Sweetheart." One hand stroked over her springy curls, cradling her tightly to him. "I have someone on this ship that I would like you to meet... I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you." Lifting her up into his arms, he offered Conrart a smile. "I might not be able to change the world, but sometimes... I can make things right."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you like it! NOWWWWWW on to part 24 XD and a lot of emotional turmoil back in the GDK!<strong>


	24. Part 24: Guilt

**Author's Note: I really hope you enjoy this chapter. It was a very interesting thing to write! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but the Arvasis. LOL**

* * *

><p><strong>Private Vessel, <em>Arvasis<em>, Schildkraut Harbour, Wienne**

"Greta." Yuuri was carrying the little girl into the room, his hand lightly stroking over her hair and carefully shifting her from his arms to the edge of the bed. "Look." His head tipped towards the sleeping woman who lay stretched out underneath the sheets, her face deathly pale, bruises marring her honey gold skin, but Izula, Duchess of Zorashia _lived_.

Greta's head turned and the little girl stared in shock for one long moment, chestnut brown eyes widening and tears were streaking down her face while she stared at her mother. "Ma...ma..." She breathed out, chin trembling, one small hand reaching out to touch the woman's cheek. "MAMA!"

The little girl flung herself forwards, practically sprawling over the woman, her face buried against the woman's chest, her curls tumbling forwards around her face. Both arms wrapped tightly around her mother, desperate to hold onto her. The human woman stirred slowly, green-brown eyes slowly beginning to flutter open in response to the tightness coiled around her, a weak hand lifted to lightly touch the curls that filled her vision.

"...Gre..ta...?" Her voice was no more than a whisper, her gaze still filled with physical pain that still deeply troubled her, yet it meant nothing compared to the joy that jolted through her body the moment the little girl's head lifted. "Oh... _god_..." Tears shimmered in her eyes as she brushed her fingertips across her child's face, memorising every inch of it with her heart lodging itself firmly in her mouth.

"Mama." The child was sobbing, hiccupping softly between breaths as she curled up beside her mother, refusing to even consider leaving her side. "You're... you're here..."

"Be careful with her, Greta." Yuuri said softly as he moved to stand beside the edge of the bed, his fingers brushing away the little girl's tears tenderly, offering the girl's mother a small smile. "Your mother is still quite sick... but she will make a full recovery." It would take months, of that Yuuri was certain, Izula had been suffering from a disease for years and it would take time and a lot of magical care to restore her health, but Yuuri would make sure it happened.

Izula's hazel eyes turned from the face of her daughter to gaze up into Yuuri's face, recognition being reflected there. "You..." Her expression softened and her free hand reached out towards him. "You... saved me from the... fire... Angel..."

"I'm no angel." He offered her a small wry smile. Dropping down to one knee beside the bed, he looked her squarely in the eye. "I am just a man... wishing to help all those that I can."

"Thank... you." She whispered, her strength already beginning to give out from just the effort of speaking for so long. However, her arm remained curled around her child, finally with her after five long years and not about to give her up for any reason.

"I only wish I could do more." Yuuri responded. "I only wish... I could do so much more."

* * *

><p>A soft little whimper escaped the back of his throat, his back arching as pleasure pooled in his veins, hot and addictive. Fingers curling into the sheets beneath him, he let out another breathy little sound, lips parting, while his eyes flew open and stared down into the fierce molten silver of his husband's gaze. He couldn't look away, it felt as if his soul had been captured by that luminous stare, his heart had been stolen right out of his chest.<p>

His mouth swallowed Yuuri whole, devouring his length right to the base, teeth and tongue making Yuuri jolt with white hot pleasure in response. Fingers were stroking around inside of his body, brushing against the bundle of nerves that sent fire racing through him, making him thrust back against the intrusion.

"More..." He begged softly, thighs parting and baring himself to his lover's caresses, his exhausted body quite willing to give into anything his lover wished to do with him. "..._Please_..."

A third finger pressed into his tight passage, slowly scissoring within him, stretching the tight muscles, thrusting in deeply and spreading a little of the oil within. Those digits twisted within his body, caressing along the sensitive inner walls, drawing more whimpers from him. He was on fire, every nerve singing as soft brushes of warm air coiled along his limbs, stroking him gently.

Yuuri's dark eyes were dazed the moment he felt that mouth dip again, teeth scraping hotly up along his stiff flesh. Heated breath tickling against his hip, a tongue circled the tip, tasting him sensually. There was nothing quite like this, the feeling of those calloused hands on his skin, pinching and twisting a nipple, circling his navel or even cupping him intimately as he was being stroked. His body jerked and trembled with what was being done to him, feeling the slow powerful rise of something within him.

It exploded within him, his back arching as he cried out his husband's name. Eyes closed tightly as every muscle in his body spasmed and clenched tightly around those fingers buried deep within him. Hot fluids filled Conrart's mouth and the man eagerly swallowed, practically purring like a big cat as he licked his lover clean of the spilt seed.

Slowly lifting his head, Conrart's silver eyes burned in the darkness of their cabin, like twin moons that had been drawn from the heavens and set in his handsome face.

"I want to be inside of you." He growled out softly, rubbing his lover's sweetspot and watching him tremble and moan in response. "I _need_ to be inside of you."

"Come to me." The King breathed out, chest still heaving a little from what his lover had done to him.

Both arms stretched out towards the man, closing around Conrart's broad shoulders when the man moved up to cover him, their skin sensitive as it rubbed together. His fingers slowly slipped free of Yuuri's body, leaving the man empty for only a moment before his own hardness was pressed there, the hot tip brushing over the stretched entrance, feeling his lover shudder in response. Yuuri's nails bit into Conrart's back, his legs coiling around the back of his lover's hips, baring himself completely to his beloved's first deep thrust.

The two half-breeds groaned in unison as Conrart slipped into his beloved in one swift movement. Angling each thrust, he got a sharp whimper from Yuuri as his sweetspot was being trapped between that hard penetrating length and the two fingers that pressed against his perineum trapping his sweetspot between the two. Lifting his head, Yuuri's mouth caught Conrart's, one hand sliding up along the man's spine and cupped his nape, holding him there as he was trying to taste every inch of it as Conrart's body claimed his own.

Magic shimmered in the air around them, the Demon King unable to hold in his powerful responses to his lover's claiming. His palm dropped down to the base of Conrart's spine, his fingertips warm with fire magic that tingled along his nerves and out into Conrart's. The man almost reared back in response, his hoarse shout of surprised pleasure muffled against Yuuri's mouth. Their nerve endings were lit up like a pair of Christmas trees, the soldier panting hotly against his lover's ear as he was being flooded with so much magic he felt he would burst with it.

Gasping for air, the man pounded hard into his lover, their bodies coiled together tightly, the friction of skin on skin almost sending them both tumbling over the edge.

"What... are you doing... to me?" Conrart rasped, silver eyes staring into Yuuri's own, their mouths brushing together, tongues and teeth teasing and nipping. "I..." A hoarse cry of pleasure escaped his lips, head arching back, body trembling with the force of their connection.

It was more than just _physical_ this time. Their connection ran soul deep, the thing that had been growing deep within Conrart responding to Yuuri's presence like a flame to oxygen, igniting with an explosive force that sent him spiralling over the edge with a howling cry of his beloved's name. Spilling himself within Yuuri, the dark haired King followed only a moment later, face pressed against the arching curve of his lover's throat.

They collapsed together in a heap of trembling limbs, their bodies entwined and limp with the ecstasy that burned through their veins and right to their hearts. It was in that one moment that they truly felt one another, their souls exposed in their moment of intimacy. The overwhelming love they shared spilling over and flooding the room in a wave of warm air, ruffling books on the nearby desk, and making even the curtains sway against the edges of the porthole.

Yuuri was the first to rouse, his hand sliding along the length of Conrart's spine, feeling the tingle of the man's magic warm beneath his palm. He could feel it within Conrart, the stirrings of magic... or at least it was what he thought he felt. It was like... a soft breeze fluttering through his very soul, chasing away the darkness that attempted to find a hold within him. He could feel Conrart trembling beneath his touch, body shuddering with the force of what they had done.

"Yuuri..." The man groaned softly, his face nuzzling in against Yuuri's neck, dropping a tender little kiss just there. "What... ju...st... happened?" Strong arms wrapped around Yuuri, holding him close and not moving from where he had blanketed his lover with his body.

"I'm not quite certain." Though his fingers smoothed down Conrart's hair, sending a few tendrils of healing magic into the man's body and felt him relax back against him, the tension melting out of him.

"Something... is happening to me..." Conrart's head lifted a little, his eyes a swirling mixture of beautiful cinnamon and quicksilver, his gaze searching Yuuri's face. "I... I feel it... inside of me."

"What is it like?"

"Warm..." Face pressing itself back against Yuuri's throat, Conrart melted into his lover's arms, his own exhaustion eating away at him. "Like... you..." The man drifted slowly back into the blissful darkness that continued after their joining... relaxing under the slow caress of Yuuri's hand and the tingle of healing magic soaking into him.

"I... I don't know, Conrart." He breathed out, holding his husband close to him protectively. "But I will find out." Since as far as Yuuri knew, it was impossible for half-breeds like Conrart to start developing magic after a lifetime without even a spark of it inside of their beings. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

* * *

><p><strong>The Docks, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Wolfram was gagging, hanging over the side of the stairway that was resting against the side of the _Arvasis_ as it sat in the port closest to Covenant Castle. The blonde looked positively green around the gills. However, the viciousness of his affliction could be far more easily explained when you took into count he was a natural fire user and the exposure to so much water magic would have a negative effect upon his health. Yuuri had been quite ill himself in Svelera when they were crossing the desert and he didn't have access to water like he usually did.

"We're finally here." Wolfram groaned in relief, features paling a touch more, looking ready to heave everything up from his stomach. "I am never, _ever_ travelling by boat again." He practically sagged over the railing, flopping over it as his strength seemed to seep out of his body.

Yuuri stood and watched as the second pallet was being lowered off the main deck of the ship, Geigen Huber's features were still a touch ashen, but he didn't look as sickly as he had only a few days before. The King was already striding forwards, dropping to a knee beside the pallet and reached out with one hand to lightly rest it over the nicely healing skin around his left eye, not a scar would remain, the skin was only still a bright fresh pink. Giving him a quick 'scan', he was relieved to find the man wasn't bleeding again, it had been a major problem all through the return trip to the Great Demon Kingdom.

"Hube." Greta whispered softly as she glanced towards the man as she knelt beside her mother, a worried glint in her chestnut eyes.

"Don't worry, he will receive the best treatment available at the castle, I assure you." His hand lightly touched her hair gently, smoothing down the unruly reddish brown curls. "Your mother will be also be cared for there too."

"Hube won't die?"

"He's doing quite well actually." Yuuri reassured her. "The bleeding has stopped almost all together and his wounds are starting to look far better."

"Love." Conrart stood by Yuuri's shoulder, one hand reaching out to lightly brush back the long raven locks that framed the handsome man's face. His gaze softened and he gently helped the tired King back to his feet, drawing him close against his body and knowing that in the end it had been the right decision to bring Geigen Huber back to the Great Demon Kingdom. "It appears our escort is here." His head tipped to the side, indicating the arrival of Gwendal at the lead of the royal guard, which was surprising as it was usually Adalbert that greeted them upon their return. "I spent a messenger pigeon to the castle ahead of us to warn of our arrival."

"Hey, Big Brother!" Yuuri couldn't help but feel a flutter of relief at seeing the older man, it had been a long journey and one that had worn a little at his soul.

Greta however stared at Gwendal, instantly retreating behind Yuuri and clinging to his shirt sleeve while she watched the approaching man with a hint of fear in her eyes.

"Do not worry yourself, Greta. Gwendal is a big softie at heart and you and your mother are my guests."

Gwendal dismounted silently and approached them, his strides swift and sure, yet his eyes weren't focused on any of them but on the two pallets that sat on the stone dock. He walked straight past them, fists clenched as his sides. One hand was reaching for his sword, his stride quickening and cleared it sheath with a whisper of metal on metal.

Yuuri was faster though, moving swiftly to stand in the man's way, his sword coming up to meet Gwendal's with a sharp report. He forced the larger man backwards a step with a hard blow against his blade, obsidian eyes blazing with silent anger that Gwendal would dare to draw a sword like that in front of Greta. The little girl was watching them with wide frightened eyes, trembling where she stood, Conrart shifting in to wrap an arm around her small shoulders.

"I know your anger, Gwendal." Yuuri's voice was a low plea. "I have felt it myself towards this man, but I did not bring him here just for you to kill him. Understand this, Lord Von Voltaire, he is under my protection and is not to be harmed."

"How can you defend the man responsible for... _her_ death?"

"You did not see what I did in his eyes." The utter devastation and anguish that had torn the man's soul apart thinking that Nicola had been taken from him. "Put your sword away, Brother."

"Do you understand what you are asking me to do?"

"Yes." The King's dark eyes remained fixed on Gwendal's own, his jaw set and expression showing his determination. "If you killed him, would you be able to look Nicola in the eye and explain to her why her child no longer has a father? Why she lost the man she loves to such bitterness and hatred?"

A growl escaped Gwendal, but he was extremely reluctant to put his sword away, especially with the King so close to the man, but in the end he slipped the blade back where it belonged at his hip. His eyes dropping to the ground, unable to answer the questions that Yuuri put to him, knowing that if he did kill Geigen Huber he would never be able to face Nicola with the painful guilt of it resting on his soul.

"Take him to the castle."

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"HUBE!"

Yuuri's head jerked upwards at the sound of Nicola's voice, his heart lodging in his throat at the desperation in her tone as she ran towards them, one arm wrapped around her belly protectively.

She came to stand at the side of where Geigen Huber had been placed on a gurney, her brown eyes gazing down at the man she loved more than her own life. One hand curled against her chest over her heart, feeling it aching painfully at seeing him so badly injured, but also at the overwhelming relief that surged through her to know he was alive.

Standing beside her, Yuuri's expression softened and regret coloured his features, his hand lightly touching her arm softly. "I'm so sorry, Nicola. What happened was..."

"It's alright." Her features brightened and she turned a beautiful smile on Yuuri, knowing that he was the reason that she once more had her Hube back. "I'm just so happy to be able to see him again."

"I know."

"Be careful not to rock the gurney." Gisela whispered softly, her features paling when her head lifted and her eyes focused on the blonde haired man who was descending the steps, her own heart aching for the pain she knew he must be suffering at seeing Griesela Geigen Huber return to Covenant Castle.

"Yes, Ma'am." The soldier responded, before he was pushing it away and towards the room where Nicola had taken up residence as she remained at the castle under Gisela's care during the last few weeks of her pregnancy.

"I know... it is a lot to ask of you." Yuuri's hand rested lightly against Gisela's shoulder, obsidian meeting green, capturing her full attention for a long moment. "I know... just what my decision will do to those who live here. Yet, I ask you to look after him as you would any other patient under your care. Please... keep an close eye on him... he's not yet healed and I fear he might bleed out again around his stitches."

"Please leave him to me, your Majesty. I will do everything in my power." Before Gisela turned away, moving after the soldiers Adalbert watching her go with one hand resting on the hilt of his broad sword.

Silence abruptly filled the courtyard, the tension that had been building from their arrival coming to a head.

* * *

><p>"I know you're there, Yozak." Yuuri stopped midstride in one of the silent corridors, his shoulders straightening as he felt his fingers clench a little, knowing exactly why this particular man had sort him out. Despite how much he had come to respect the man whom had been such a large part of Conrart's life, they had never seen eye to eye, especially not when it came to Conrart and Yuuri knew how Yozak felt about him.<p>

"How could you do it?" Blue eyes levelled on Yuuri's back, burning into him fiercely. "How could you bring that man here, _knowing_ what he did?''

"It was the right thing to do."

"The _right_ thing?" Yozak's tone was sharp and scathing. "Do you know what Julia's death did to him? The years of suffering? It tore him apart."

"Conrart agreed with me on bringing him here."

"I can guess exactly what happened." The half-breed stepped out of the shadows, moving silently towards Yuuri, his jaw taut, blue eyes glittering with anger. "He agreed because you asked him to. You're the King after all, we _all_ have to do what you say. You would just stand there like a coward and let him suffer just to satisfy your need to be a hero."

Yuuri's hands curled into fists at his sides, his obsidian eyes blazing as he stared up into the face of a man he had wished once to call _friend_. "Nicola..."

"Oh yes, good excuse isn't it? Let's do this all for **Nicola** and the baby. It's all well intended." Yozak's lips pressed into a hard line, anger warring with several other powerful emotions within him. "You, _**Coward**_."

"Do not push me, Yozak."

"Or what?"

Yuuri remained silent for the longest time, knowing that Yozak was right and he wouldn't harm the man because of how much Conrart cared for him. "... I have always wanted to earn your respect, Gurrier Yozak. I've wanted to be able to call you friend because you mean so much to Conrart. Yet, every time you have an opportunity... you do this." His fingers rubbed across his face, brushing back his hair and tugging roughly at the strands. He was already at his own emotional limit and facing off against Yozak was the last thing he wanted to do.

"You aren't so _selfless_." The half-breed advanced a step, a hand dropping to rest against the hilt of the blade strapped to his waist and thigh. "You don't care what damage you do to all those around you."

"Jealousy is unbecoming in a soldier."

Yuuri's head snapped up in surprise at the deep rumble of a familiar voice, his eyes widening slightly at the fact it was Adalbert who stood there, one hand resting against his sword, eyes narrowed on Yozak's face.

"This is none of your business." Yozak responded, features darkening at the sight of Adalbert, another man who Yuuri had allowed to return to the Great Demon Kingdom without taking into account how much his return would affect all those around them. "Von Grantz."

"Actually, it is." Adalbert strode forwards, large body dominating the corridor, his cobalt blue eyes narrowing on the spy. "Any threat to the King and his future consort is something I take very seriously."

"Don't you know, _they are already married_?" The half-breed snarled, backing up a step and his jaw clenched.

The King could understand Yozak's anger, he felt it himself, but the man was acting like a caged beast, striking out at anyone he could in response to all that had happened in recent days. "Gurrier..."

"Don't think you have the right to call me that." Before the man retreated back into the shadows that he had slipped out from, leaving Adalbert alone with Yuuri, blue eyes blazing at them both before disappearing all together.

"I already know about your marriage." Adalbert remarked softly, one hand coming down to rest against Yuuri's shoulder, squeezing it warmly and offering him a little reassurance. "I recognised your pledge rings for what they were, I have seen their like before." His expression softened, fingers relaxing as he gently turned his King around to face him. "You are most definitely not a coward."

"I..." Yuuri swallowed hard, his obsidian eyes wide as they stared up at a man who had become a close friend and a voice of reason when he needed it. Adalbert Von Grantz had every right to be furious at Yuuri for what he had done, yet here he was looking down at him with concern etched on his tanned features. "I... sorry... I..."

"Do not apologise." Both large calloused hands caught at Yuuri's shoulders, squeezing once. "I know what you're doing... and no matter how much I despise that man, I... I cannot bring myself to be angry." A wry smile touched his lips, cobalt blue eyes softening a little. "Because you rescued me too. I was hated almost as much as Geigen Huber... but you... you saw something in me that was worth saving. You looked into my heart and didn't give up on me. You offered me a place in your home... and your trust."

Mouth opening, his mouth shut abruptly, his eyes widening as he gazed up at a man who months before would have never hesitated to kill him, but was now one of his closest friends. Adalbert Von Grantz was not the same man who had faced off against him that very first day when he had arrived in the Great Demon Kingdom.

"I'll give that man the benefit of the doubt for Nicola's sake and for yours. I trust your judgement, I might still want to stab him... but... I think I can refrain for now. I'll beat the pulp out of him once he's on his feet again... there's no joy in beating a weaker opponent." A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, blue eyes warm and understanding.

"Just don't cut off a limb or anything..." Yuuri tried to tease, a weak smile coming to his own mouth in response, knowing that Adalbert did need that closer, he did need those last answers that only Griesela Geigen Huber could provide him.

"I will try not to." A low chuckle escaped him, before he was urging Yuuri down the corridor and away from the haunting presence of Yozak.

They walked together in silence, Yuuri grateful that another person was willing to help keep Geigen Huber alive. It was this one act of compassion that truly demonstrated just how much Adalbert had changed through his love of Gisela and him finding some measure of happiness once more within the castle walls.

"Yes, but, Gwendal!" Wolfram's voice echoed down along one of the corridors that fed out to the long walkway Adalbert and Yuuri were moving along.

Yuuri's head turned towards the sound, his brows coming together for a long moment, his obsidian eyes troubled as they began to slow as they approached. Adalbert remained silently at his King's side as they listened to the argument taking place no more than a dozen feet away from them.

"I am not asking you." Gwendal gritted out.

"But it's not right!" Wolfram responded, hand clenching around his sheathed blade, fingers clenching for a moment, green eyes locked on his eldest brother's face.

"Even if it's the strong wish of the King, that _man_ should have never been allowed to enter this country again." Dark blue eyes reflected his anger, expression set in stark relief against his long charcoal coloured locks so similar to Geigen Huber's own. "Surely, you, Conrart, have not forgotten what he has done. You would never forget his act of deceit, innocent people died because of his selfish choices, including Suzanna Julia."

Conrart flinched at the reminder, his head tipping away because of the fact that Gwendal's words had struck the raw nerve still within his heart.

"That crime is beyond redemption." The eldest brother rasped.

"He's travelled as a vagrant these last twenty years, one look at him tells what a journey of despair his life without honour has been." Conrart had seen the scars, seen the agony in the man's features... heard his screams as Yuuri removed the dark ugly stain from the man's face and restore his eyesight. "He's been tortured by guilt."

"Do you suggest we forgive him?"

"Yes... I..." Conrart's fingers clenched however around the hilt of his sword, the one that had been a gift from Yuuri, his fingertips feeling the etched designs that ran across the guard and pummel.

"Can _you_ forgive him, Conrart?"

"I can't forgive him turning his sword on Yuuri..." Conrart's hand clenched on the hilt tightly, the sword vibrating in his white-knuckled grip. "I do not intend to ever allow him near him again the moment he awakens."

Yuuri stood there in silence, feeling his own heart clench in response to seeing Conrart's pain, knowing just how much it had cost Conrart to allow Yuuri to tend to the man as he had. He leaned against the cold stone of the wall, his eyes shut tightly as he swallowed hard against the lump that was forming in his throat. His arms wrapped around himself, his head bowed and trembling slightly knowing how much his actions still hurt his beloved, no matter what they had decided before they had found Geigen Huber.

"Yozak's right." Yuuri breathed out, a tear trailing down across his pallid. "I am being selfish."

"Conrart understands."

"But that does not lessen the pain he feels." The King breathed out, rubbing his palm hard across his cheek, swiping at the stray tears that burned its way down his cheeks . "You... are hurting too... because of my selfish choices." A harsh little sound escaped him. "But I can't regret it... I can't regret my choice in saving his life and bringing him here to Nicola."

"You are not being selfish." Adalbert said in response. "Because that man, no matter his crimes, deserves a second chance at happiness. I have done worse in my life than he has... yet fate has given me a chance to atone for those sins. From what I hear... Geigen Huber was doing just that when you found him."

* * *

><p>Knocking softly on the door, Yuuri nudged it open just a little and offered a smile to the woman inside, his gaze drifting to the bed where Geigen Huber still lay motionless. "I thought you might be hungry." He stepped inside with a tray, carrying a plate with a hot dinner on it and a large bowl of broth for the man on the bed. "You missed dinner."<p>

"I..." Nicola blinked a little, before offering the King a warm smile. "I didn't realise it had gotten so late."

Closing the door behind himself with a boot, he moved forwards and set the tray down onto the table, gesturing for her to come and eat there. "I'll tend to him."

"Sire... you..." Nicola looked a touch startled when Yuuri lifted the bowl from the tray and the large second spoon and set it in it. "I can..."

"I want to." His obsidian eyes were troubled, his shoulders slumped and he couldn't seem to rally a smile, even for her. The words of those he had heard earlier were gnawing away at his heart, leaving it aching so fiercely, he just needed to do something in order to feel a little bit useful again. "I have some practice doing it."

Stepping forwards, he was setting the bowl on the night stand and sat down beside the man, his arm reaching out to slide beneath the man's head and shoulders before shifting in behind him enough to settle him a little more upright. Allowing the man's head to tip back into the crook of his arm, he opened the man's mouth and slowly dribbled it down a bit, the fingers of one hand stroking along his throat to encourage him to swallow.

It was always a slow process, but to Yuuri it was helping to sooth some battered part of his mind. Seeing the relief on Nicola's face as she ate and watched them reassured him that he had made the best choice possible in bringing him back to the castle. Once the bowl was empty, he carefully settled the man back down onto the bedding before drawing back the sheets and brushing his fingers over the slightly discoloured bandages. Palm covering the long vicious wound that had been sliced into the man's belly, the flicker of heat spread down Yuuri's arm and between his fingertips as healing magic soaked into the man's body again.

"I..." Nicola hesitated as she returned to the chair beside the bed, her eyes flickering to Griesela's face, her fingertips touching against the bright pink skin. "What happened to him? No one will tell me." The woman's fingers clenched slightly, showing just how much strain this entire situation was placing on her. "What... did he do, Yuuri? What... what did he do... that makes everyone hate him so?"

A painful lump formed in his throat at the questions, but knew most of those in the castle wouldn't be willing to speak about such matters and so Nicola had turned to him. "Nicola..."

"Please."

And Yuuri told her. He explained everything from Stoffel's hold on power to the war... to Geigen Huber's place in bringing about the death of Suzanna Julia Von Wincott, but also about the fact that it had been Shinou's plan for her to die and be reborn as Yuuri. He continued on about Conrart and Yozak and the Lutenberg Division, Geigen Huber's banishment and what they had learned from Greta about what had happened after Geigen Huber was taken to the castle dungeons in Svelera. The fact that something had taken the use of his left eye until Yuuri had repaired it, the fact that Geigen Huber had been told that Nicola was dead or that it was what they had figured out as the reason behind the man's death wish.

Tears were streaking down Nicola's face when he finished, his head turned away from the pain in her gaze, unable to look into it and consider the fact that he had been the one to tell her the truth about this matter.

"You... have every right to... hate him." Nicola choked out, a hand covering her mouth, her brandy brown eyes closing tightly shut as tears continued to track down her cheeks. "Yet you... you tend to him like this... you..."

"Because I know this man has changed from the one everyone has described to me. He loves you, Nicola. You... a _human_ woman, which is something Lord Griesela Geigen Huber would never have even contemplated twenty years ago. Time has taken away enough from both of you." Sighing, he shifted away from the bed and stood, his hand reaching out to lightly brush against Nicola's cheek, brushing away her tears gently. "Do you still love him, knowing what he has done?"

"Yes."

"Good, because he'll need your love in order to be able to one day forgive himself as I already have for what he has done against me."

* * *

><p>Griesela Geigen Huber jerked into consciousness with a startled gasp, his teal blue eyes opening suddenly to stare up at the canopy of a bed, blinking once his vision cleared. It was in that moment he realised as his hand lifted to touch his own face that the blindness in one eye that had afflicted him for the past nine months had lifted.<p>

Slowly he pushed himself upwards, one arm wrapped around his stomach, feeling the jolts of pain spreading outwards from underneath the thick bandages coiled around his chest. Swinging his bare feet over the side of the bed, he sat up, a wave of dizziness striking him and forcing him to still for a long moment and catch his breath. With just his force of will propelling him, he gained his feet, staggering forwards as he crossed the familiar room. It had been his all those years ago. In the years, he had been a bigot and a coward. How could he have been so blind? How could he have ever let his pride steal so much away from him?

There was only one punishment fitting the crimes he had committed, only one solution to end the agony he felt every day knowing that his beloved Nicola was no longer in this world with him.

Slipping out the door, he was slowly making his way through the familiar corridors, knowing exactly where in his dark castle he would find a sword... and maybe someone to finally end his wretched existence. Life without Nicola was no life at all.

* * *

><p>The familiar dark halls of the castle surrounded Yuuri, his long raven hair swaying around his shoulders as he walked, his eyes half closed as he tried desperately to find some kind of answer. Another reason he was walking the halls was that he was in search of the one man he loved beyond reason and needed to talk to. He had kept to himself most of the day, desperately trying to sort out his emotions before he faced off against someone else again.<p>

The day had been wearing on everyone in the castle, even the servants were feeling the growing strain that had been building since his return with Geigen Huber. The tension between different people in the castle were just adding to the entire situation, making it untenable for some.

His head tipped up and his body slumped with relief when Conrart straightened away from a wall in the corridor Yuuri had turned down in order to reach the courtyard beyond. Their eyes met for one long moment, before Yuuri was rushing forwards, both arms wrapping around the man's neck and holding on tightly.

The air went out of Conrart's lungs with the impact, his arms immediately wrapping around the trembling body and pulled Yuuri close to him. His face pressed against the silky mass of black hair that tickled his chin and throat. "Love..." Conrart whispered, feeling Yuuri's silent trembling sobs, his grip tightening a little more, fingers curling into Yuuri's hair and holding him close like that. "My beloved Little Dragon." He breathed out, pressing a kiss against one temple and wishing he knew what to say in that moment.

"I'm sorry." Yuuri whispered out against his lover's chest, desperately trying to hold back his tears. "I didn't mean... to hurt you."

Now that made Conrart's eyebrows lift upwards in shock, his hands carefully drawing Yuuri away from him enough to slip his hand beneath his lover's chin and tip his head upwards so that he could look into the dark obsidian of his eyes. "You haven't hurt me... what would give you such an idea?"

"I..." He was about to say something about what Yozak had said, but swallowed hard and admitted. "I heard you talking with Gwendal and Wolfram earlier..." His fingers curled slightly into the black and silver jacket Conrart was wearing, his eyes dropping away from his husband's not quite able to meet them. "I know... I'm being selfish..." Even Adalbert's reassurance hadn't been enough to ease the dull ache that was resting in his heart. "About Geigen Huber..."

"Oh, Love." Conrart sighed with sudden understanding, his hand staying still beneath his lover's jaw and tipping it upwards so that he could press a warm kiss against that mouth gently, thumb stroking over one cheek. "I admit I'm still quite furious with that man after attempting to go after you... but I did forgive him before we even saw him again. We talked about it."

"I know... but..."

"_Sweetheart_."

"I'm **selfish**... Gwendal... Gisela... Adalbert..." His head dipped again, his heart twisting painfully in his chest. "Yozak."

That startled Conrart, and he was dropping to his knees, he drew Yuuri to him with one arm around the man's waist, his silver streaked cinnamon eyes studying Yuuri's features. "What about Yozak?"

"It's nothing important."

"You never were good at lying to me." Stroking his fingers against Yuuri's cheek, he let out a soft breath and managed to capture the troubled obsidian gaze. "Did he say something to you? Is that why I couldn't find you earlier?"

"We did talk."

"You are not being unreasonable wanting him here. I might not... be able to forgive him yet over attempting to harm you... but I will get over it eventually. I know you want to be able to make things right for Nicola and her child, that is the kind of person you are. You have every right to hate the man... yet you decided to forgive him." Conrart's fingertips stroked against Yuuri's cheeks, understanding what it was that was troubling his beloved so much. "Gwendal for all his snarling, for all his anger... loves Griesela like a brother. It just might take him a little longer to remember that fact, but he cares."

"What about Yozak?"

"I understand his rage, but it will poison him... like it almost did me. Holding onto such anger for twenty years... time has punished that man enough."

Yuuri swallowed hard, before dipping his head and letting their foreheads rest together, his trembling hands lifting to caress along the nape of Conrart's neck, sliding into the long chocolate brown locks that spilled over his collar. "I love you so much." The knots within him were unravelling with Conrart's warm reassurances, his words easing away the pain within his heart.

"Do you think saving his life was a mistake, Love?"

"No." Relief flooded him, feeling both strong arms coil around his body, cradling him close as Conrart's head dropped forwards and rested close to his heart. "No, it wasn't a mistake no matter what anyone says."

"You are the heart of this kingdom."

Something glinted out of the corner of Yuuri's eye, his head jerking up and he suddenly shoved Conrart with both hands against the man's shoulders, sending him to the ground with a grunt of surprise as he sprawled there. Yuuri's hands lifted and for the first time his instincts kicked in, a water blade forming in his hands and meeting the razor sharp blade that came slashing down towards them. Metal met magically shaped water with a sharp almost liquid crack.

Yuuri lunged forwards, his blade sweeping up and around and forcing the wounded man backwards and out into the walkway that ran along the edge of one of the castle's courtyards. The King was horrified to realise exactly who it was that had drawn a sword against himself and Conrart. "Griesela!"

The man stood there in the wash of moonlight spilling in from under the archways his body practically trembling with fatigue and pain, his teal eyes coloured with a thousand shades of despair. He froze however as he stared at the half-breed confronting him with a mixture of true horror and shock, his hands trembling around the hilt of his sword. His eyes took in the obsidian eyes and waves of raven locks that framed a handsome face and knew exactly who this man was.

Yuuri stood protectively in front of Conrart, his blade lifted in defence of his beloved.

"Why?" Yuuri breathed out, his expression torn. "_Why_?"

* * *

><p><strong>TADA! Cliffhangeeeeeeeeer. But that is the way it was in the anime XD I have to keep you all on your toes! I hope you like it!<strong>


	25. Part 25: Revelations

**Author's Note: This chapter is full of revelations XD and heart touching moments. I love it! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but Tomas.**

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Stay back, Conrart." Yuuri growled out, his obsidian eyes narrowing on the man before him, knowing that he had to disarm him rather than incapacitate him.

"Beloved!" Conrart's hand trembled on the hilt of his sword, but did not draw it from its sheath no matter how much he wanted to.

"Double-black..." The wounded man rasped, his eyes widening with horror as he stared into the face of his opponent. "I can't believe this..." How could this be? How could he have again done something irreparable? "No... _please_..." His heart clenched at the sight of a man he was beginning to recognise as the one who had saved his life, the one whose hands hand prevented his death.

His water-born sword struck hard close to the guard of Geigen Huber's sword, forcing the man to release it as it spun in the air and clattered to the ground as he stumbled backwards from the force of the blow. The edge of his fluid blade touching lightly against the man's neck before it was being withdrawn, his obsidian eyes troubled with this entire situation.

"Stay back, my Prince." Yuuri requested, standing before Conrart protectively, not wanting to have to see his husband be forced into battle against this man again, knowing just how protective Conrart was of him.

"HIGHNESS! YOUR HIGHNESS!" Gunter's voice bounced down along the corridor.

The sound of Gunter and Gwendal's arrival was quickly followed by echoes of running feet and the slight jangle of swords in their sheaths as guards appeared behind them. So many troubled faces appeared out of the darkness lit by the golden glow of the torches several guards carried.

"I demand to know this instant what is happening here?" The angry features of Lord Von Christ showed that he was definitely not pleased by the scene laid out before him. He stopped beside Gwendal, his lavender eyes widening on the fact that it was their King and not Conrart who had disarmed Geigen Huber.

Gwendal charged forwards, cold hard rage burning in his eyes over the fact that it was apparently Geigen Huber had drawn his sword on the King and his brother once more. He was so fast that Yuuri couldn't turn to stop him in time when he swept past the King and his fist connected viciously with the wounded man's jaw, slapping his head back so hard that it knocked him backwards and down onto the cold stone floor.

Geigen Huber landed on his side, his body trembling with the strain he had placed on it, blood already beginning to seep through the thick bandages that coiled around his stomach, staining the white fabric dark with blood. He gasped for air, his lungs screaming as he lay there panting, barely able to believe just how weak he was right at that moment.

"This was what I was afraid of," Gwendal growled out, one hand curling around the hilt of his sword, the other clenching into a tight fist. "It's the reason I was against letting him inside the castle again." His sword slipped free of its sheath as he advanced on the man he still loved as much as he did his brothers. Pain radiated out from around his heart, the organ stuttering and cracking apart within his chest. However, Geigen Huber had attacked their King and that was an unforgiveable act.

"Gwendal, no!" Yuuri cried out, his blade however had returned to the water it had been forged from as his emotions screamed loudly in his ears. He didn't want to draw a blade on his brother again, but he was reaching forwards for him, one hand curling around his wrist. "_NO_!"

"I should have ended your life twenty years ago, traitor."

The blade lifted and teal eyes focused long enough on it to feel a surge of relief at the sight, knowing that soon he would be joining his Nicola, soon the blazing guilt that ate him from the inside out would be eased. Its razor sharp edge glinted in the torch light.

"Hube!" Nicola suddenly appeared out of nowhere her body flinging itself protectively across her beloved's body to protect him from the sword coming down towards him.

Gwendal's blade jolted to a stop as the man's entire body froze, his sword having been prevented from striking the pair by not only his own quick reaction but also by the white hot barrier of spiralling flames that flickered and danced beneath it. The shield rushed towards Gwendal, knocking him back several steps with the force of its passage, yet doing no harm to him. The Tribesman turned, expecting to see Wolfram but only saw Yuuri standing there, eyes sparking brightly with blazing embers of heat from within, one hand lifted with sparks of flame coiling around his fingertips.

"I told you, _no_, Brother." Yuuri's tone was sharp, his expression however was guarded, his emotions tightly kept under his control.

Warmth filled Griesela's senses as well as a familiar scent that made his heart clench, his body stiffening in shock as he felt those small hands touch his cheek, her lips against his shoulder. _Nicola_. His world abruptly turned itself upside-down so quickly that it left him dazed and spinning for a long moment.

"Stand up, Hube." Nicola was slipping her arm around her beloved's back, drawing his own over her shoulders as she desperately drew him up to his feet, feeling him stagger and sway against her.

"Nicola." His expression showed his overwhelming love for her, the desperate emotions that had almost torn him apart without her. His free hand curled around the hilt of the sword, leaning against it in order to remain upright. "My Love."

"Hurry!" She was already drawing him away from the fighting and the soldiers, knowing the one place they might just be safe from harm.

Gwendal was moving forwards again, still not quite being able to stop himself.

Abruptly this time it was Greta that stopped him, her small arms spread wide and her wide chestnut eyes staring upwards into the face of a man who frightened her senseless most of the time. "Stop!"

"Greta!" Yuuri was moving towards the little girl, worry etched on his face.

"Quit it! Stop picking on Hube!" The little girl cried out in defiance, not willing to be moved out of the way.

The man's features softened as he gazed down at the child, his heart going out for what she had suffered through. "I'm sorry, but he committed an unforgiveable crime."

"Well so have I!" Greta shouted back, her lower tip quivering with the guilt that she felt over her actions. "Remember what I did? I tried to kill Yuuri once, too."

"Margareta." The King's voice was so soft, his heart aching that this child had been forced into something just in order to seek attention from someone... someone who might care enough to look at her.

"I lied and then I selfishly tried to stab him." Tears shimmered on her lashes, wide dark eyes staring at the ground, body trembling with the force of her guilt and regret. "I still feel like crying when I think about it. I'm so ashamed of myself, it hurts me." Her gaze sort out the dark eyes of the man whom had always looked after her since they had first met. "But Yuuri didn't even get mad at me, he's never even scolded me for being bad. What I did was a terrible thing and he has never said he hates me for doing it..." Swallowing around the sobs that wanted to escape her, tears trickled down her cheeks. "He brought my mother back to me."

"Greta." The King was down on one knee, his arms spreading out to welcome the little girl whom came rushing into his embrace. He lifted her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest and tucking her head against his neck. "I know, Sweetheart. I know."

* * *

><p>Griesela Geigen Huber groaned as his body dropped into a surprisingly comfortable chair, his teal blue eyes drifting half open as he trembled with the aching pain that split right through his gut. His hand pressed against it and his fingers came back stained with blood, his chest heated slightly as he tried to catch his breath. It was only then that he realised exactly where he was and stiffened, when his eyes fell on Nicola. His heart however melted right there in his chest as he gazed into her beautiful brandy eyes that watched him with concern.<p>

"How... is it possible?" His free hand stretched out towards her, arm trembling with the weakness that continued to assail him. Fingertips tenderly caressed her cheek, softly lingering there feeling the dampness of one tear tickling across his skin.

Nicola clasped his hand, pressing his palm against her face and a kiss to his wrist, love and relief flooding her at the sight of those eyes watching her. "The King. He saved me from a forced marriage..." A flush ran across her cheeks at that, knowing it would be quite a long story to explain everything. "And he gave me safe harbour in the Great Demon Kingdom... he... he was the one that brought you back to me." A sob escaped her, several more tears sliding down to her chin and dripped downwards to dampen her dress. "I never thought I would see you again... I..."

Griesela blinked when his hand was guided downwards from her face and against the swell of her belly, his lips parting in shock as he gazed downwards. A small foot kicked into his palm, a tiny heart beat fluttering against his fingers through the fabric of her dress. His mind jerked to a rather violent stop.

"Our child." She whispered, desperately longing to see something in those shadowed eyes.

"Our..." A choked sound caught in his throat, his eyes widening as he stared helplessly. In all his life, he had never thought he have a child. His own... child. Guilt scorched through his gut, realising in that one moment as he felt that precious life move beneath his palm just how wrong he had been all those years ago. It was a single moment of true clarity for him.

"I... it gave me something to hold onto... this child, our child. I would have some small part of you... even if you were not with me..." Her brandy eye closed tightly for a moment, stepping forwards and gazing down into his eyes. "I've missed you, Hube, there has not been a moment... I have not longed to be in your arms."

His head lifted and he was kissing her, his mouth finding hers, tasting her for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime and knowing that life without her was no life at all. "I love you." He breathed out, his fingers curling slowly into her silky locks, keeping her close. "I couldn't bear it. I just... couldn't exist knowing that you were not in this world with me... My Nicola... my beloved."

"You know... you have to be one of the most frustrating men in existence, Lord Griesela Geigen Huber." Yuuri stood in the doorway, one eyebrow raised as he watched them and couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. Despite everything, he couldn't find any anger in himself as he watched the pair together. "Next time he injures himself, I'm going to tie him down before I ever consider treating him, Nicola."

"Sire..." Her cheeks flamed a little, but her expression turned a little worried when she caught the sight of red seeping through the bandages again. "I..."

"I know." The dark haired man offered her an understanding smile. "I would feel the same if it was my Conrart."

"Lord Von Voltaire..." She hesitated, glancing towards the door worriedly.

"Is chasing his own tail around the entire castle searching for him. I just had a feeling you might end up here." Moving across the space, he was grateful when Nicola pulled back enough for the King to drop to one knee beside the chair, one hand already reaching out towards the man.

"Majesty... I..." Words stuck themselves in his throat, clogging it up.

"_You are forgiven._" The voice of the Demon King echoed through the space, his obsidian eyes reflecting the candlelight that filled the space. "Learn from your mistakes, _live, _not only for Nicola and your child's sakes, but also for your own."

"You should accept your good fortune, Geigen Huber." Conrart hovered in the doorway, having been only a few steps behind Yuuri the entire time, his silver streaked cinnamon eyes narrowing a little on the man whom had almost destroyed him twenty years before. "I for one know what a gift Yuuri's compassion is." Moving towards them, his hands remained away from his sword for once, his gaze dropping down to where both of Yuuri's hands were spread across the wounded man's stomach, the brilliant flicker of healing magic seeping into the Demon Tribesman once more.

"I'm so sorry, Lord Weller." His teal blue eyes shimmered with the regret and guilt of two decades, his breath catching in his throat as he managed to meet the eyes of a man he had wronged so often and so brutally. "My words... will never be enough to express what I feel... what I have done..."

"Through all of your actions... you gave me one good thing in return." Conrart's hand smoothed over the dark locks hanging before Yuuri's eyes, the back of his fingers caressing one cheek tenderly. "You gave me Yuuri."

"How...?" Confusion coloured Griesela's features as he gazed at the dark haired man kneeling by his feet tending to the still bleeding wound across his belly.

"A long story short." The King mused softly, feeling an odd lightness settle in his heart, hearing Conrart's words and feeling that spark of anger that had always remained in his heart slip quietly into nothingness. "My soul was originally Suzanna Julia's." There was no longer any doubt in his soul that Conrart loved him for exactly who he was and not for the fact that he had once been Suzanna Julia.

"You..." Griesela decided it was better to shut his mouth before he started gaping like a fish at them in surprise.

"I know... trust me a lot of people have that reaction to that little fact." Frowning slightly, he gave Griesela a steady look. "We need Gisela, you really have pulled your stitches this time. This time, stay _put_!"

* * *

><p>"What am I going to do with you?" Both raven brows lifted while he regarded his older brother-in-law for one long moment. "Gwendal?"<p>

"He attempted to kill you. Not just once, _twice_."

"And...? So have a few other people." Pacing before the man, he ran his hand back through his long hair and released a harsh little sigh. "This has to stop here and now, Gwendal."

"I respectfully disagree." Navy blue eyes focused on the wall behind where Yuuri paced, jaw clenching, one hand still resting against the hilt of his sword. "Majesty."

"_Respectfully_?" Yuuri jerked to a stop, shaking his head and regarding the man before him with just a hint of frustration showing on his face. "I know how much that man means to you, Gwendal, I can see it in your eyes whenever you looked at him. However..."

"However, he is responsible for the deaths of countless innocents. That _man_..."

"Has been tortured by that fact for twenty years. I know Conrart told you that before, but I'm saying think about what you've seen. Think about the man you once knew." The man who had practically placed a death sentence squarely on Conrart's head, the cold hard facts were something that could burn a man's soul and shatter apart a heart. "And think about the man you saw only a few hours ago."

"Time cannot change everything."

"I always hated that man. I was always _less_ in his eyes, like I was in Wolfram's." Yuuri repeated the words that Conrart had spoken to him on the ship, remembering the feel of his lover's emotions straining beneath the surface. "I wanted so much to see pride in Gwendal's eyes instead of disappointment."

Gwendal jerked back a step at those words, his blue eyes widening, his chest rising sharply as he inhaled. It was an emotional strike that knocked him so hard that it left him reeling inside. "_Conrart_." He whispered softly, a tiny shiver rippling through his body, his heart clenching at the memories that haunted him.

"Are you that same man, Gwendal?" Yuuri's hands spread out before him, when he stopped before the man, jaw gritted slightly. "Answer me, _Brother_. Are you the same man whom is responsible for causing such sorrow in his brother?"

"No." His eyes widened slightly, the man swallowing convulsively. "I would... I..."

"You are not the same man as the one Conrart described from so long ago. He is not the same... I am certainly not the same as I was merely a year ago." His palms caught Gwendal's face, stared into his eyes. "Please." Tone gentling, his fierce expression softened as he gazed at the man he had come to know. "Forgive him. He needs you right now, Gwendal. Griesela is a broken man whose become a father tonight when he didn't even know he would ever have a child barely a few hours ago. He has barely been surviving as it is thinking that he had lost his Nicola."

"You ask too much of me." He swallowed convulsively. "You..."

"_Try_." The King whispered. "It's all I ask."

Gwendal's eyes closed, his head bowing and he knew right at that moment Yuuri Shibuya Weller had won this particular argument. "I will... attempt to resolve my issues with him."

"Without the use of your sword?" Yuuri lifted one brow in silent demand.

"Without the use of weapons or magic."

"Good." The King grinned up at Gwendal, hands dropping from the man's face and he stepped back, practically bouncing on his heels.

"How do you do that?"

"Mmmh?"

"You... just..." His hands waved slightly, as if attempting to indicate the argument they had both just been involved in. Even Gwendal couldn't help but crack a small smile in response.

"It's a talent." And he winked up at Gwendal, leaving the startled Tribesman behind as he headed back out into the corridor.

* * *

><p>Conrart's head drooped back against the headrest of the large wing-backed chair, his legs resting up on a padded footstool. Yuuri sat curled in his lap, reading one of his raised-text books with his fingers in the darkness of their chambers. His head lifted a little, cheek resting against his lover's bare chest, hearing the slow throb of Conrart's heart beneath his ear. He couldn't help but smile, his lips lightly touching against the tawny skin over that beating organ.<p>

A contented sigh escaped Conrart, his brown eyes blinking half open and a smile touched the corners of his lips.

"Reading?" Conrart questioned softly, his eyes drifting closed again as he shifted Yuuri on his lap, drawing the man a little closer in against him, arms sliding around the warm body curled against him.

"Yes." Head tipping back slightly, his mouth brushed against the underside of his beloved's jaw, tongue flicking out to tease one of the almost invisible scars just there.

"You should try to get a little sleep." One hand cupped the back of his lover's head, his head lifting to allow his lover better access, fingertips massaged the back of his scalp. Groaning when Yuuri nipped at him, his body shuddered as his lover twisted in his lap setting his book aside during the process. "Sweetheart..."

"Three weeks." He whispered tenderly. Hands slipped beneath Conrart's loose shirt, trailing up along the man's sides, thumb sliding over the long scar that crossed his side where a sword had once pierced his flesh. "Three weeks and we'll be 'officially' married. You'll truly be my Prince in the eyes of everyone. The people truly adore you."

"You made everything possible." Conrart whispered, just wanting to keep Yuuri close, hold the man until nothing could ever separate them. It was only here with Yuuri in his arms that he felt such contentment, such peace deep down in his soul. "I have never see this kingdom thrive as much as I have under your rule."

"Do you know what I like..."

"What?"

"The two months honeymoon period." Yuuri grinned at Conrart, his hands sliding higher over his lover's chest, the shirt being opened one button at a time until Yuuri could lean forwards and lick over one nipple softly as he straddled his lover's hips. "A gift from everyone. I think Gwendal is hoping by the end of it we are over our..." He chuckled a little at the exact words Gwendal had used. "Intense need to fornicate on every surface in the castle."

Conrart practically roared with laughter at that, eyes sparkling with amusement before a low rather pleased groan escaped his throat. "I doubt I could ever get tired of you." His mouth found Yuuri's, their breath mingling together for one long heated moment. "I will never get enough, of your taste... the sound of your voice... or holding you in my arms. I will never get enough."

* * *

><p>Yuuri bounced the little baby gently in his arms, the tiny infant gurgling softly in response, large brandy eyes blinking slightly as he stared over Yuuri's shoulder at the different people in the corridor. "It's an interesting world, isn't it, El?" His fingers lightly stroked over the child's brown locks, smoothing them down and smiling a little in response. "I promise you that this will be a world where you will never have to fear what you are, or feel ashamed of being a half-blooded Demon Tribesman."<p>

El squirmed a little before settling, the child's cheek resting against his shoulder, the slow stroke of the King's hand against the child's back and the soft brush of his healing magic was easily nudging the infant into sleep. The little boy gave one last sound of contentment and drifted off into sleep in Yuuri's arms without a sound of protest or even so much as a whimper.

Moving back down the corridor, he was lightly knocking on one of the doors, hearing a soft sound of response from within, he pushed it open and smiled warmly at the sleeping Nicola and Griesela Geigen Huber. The man's head lifted, his teal blue eyes softening at the sight of his King whom came in carrying their week old son.

"Majesty..." The man looked a little uncomfortable, his head dipping, his eyes drifting to the floor for a long moment. "I apologise for..."

"It's no problem at all." The half-breed smiled. "I know how much both of you need your rest. I'm just glad I can help... even if it's just getting him to sleep." The child was restless most nights, but a few minutes with Yuuri easily quieted little El for some reason. "He's quite a powerful little boy." The raw magic the child held was something Yuuri understood well. It was more than even Geigen Huber might possess, he had clearly inherited magic unlike most half-breeds. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I have in quite some time." Griesela answered honestly, leaning back in the chair, his hand lightly rested over his still bandaged stomach over where the stitched skin was finally sealing together. "I feel at peace."

"I'm glad to hear it." The King couldn't help but grin at the man. "Your parents will be here tonight, I sent word to them when we were certain everything was well and they are eager to see you, Nicola and your cute little Son here."

"I don't know what to say..." He murmured as Yuuri stood beside him. "All that you have done for my family... all you have done for me. I would be dead if not for you, Sire. How can I repay you?"

"There are two things you can do for me." Carefully settling the little boy into his father's arms, he corrected Griesela's grip, watching El settle against his father's chest with a sleepy little sigh. "One... look after your family, Griesela, they deserve to have you with them as often as possible. The second thing... I have a request... one..." He sighed, rubbing his fingers back through his hair and looking slightly troubled by it. "I need to know about your eye."

Cradling his son in the crook of one powerful arm, the man lifted one hand to lightly touch over the now healed skin around his left eye, his jaw clenching ever so slightly. He remained silent for a long moment, swallowing hard at the remembered pain of what had been inflicted upon him.

"It happened in Svelera... during my imprisonment. I saw... a certain object in the palace dungeon." His free hand clenched into a tight fist, a shiver running through his entire body in response."

A sickening weight was resting in Yuuri's gut, something he knew he honestly didn't want confirmed. "What was it?"

"A box."

Yuuri's hand reached out to rest against Griesela's shoulder, his fingers squeezing against it, urging the man to continue.

"They grabbed me and held me down... forcing me to approach it. I'm uncertain about it... but apparently they believed my left eye had some strange connection to that box."

"The Key." Yuuri murmured, his expression showing just how troubled he was by that news. "Thank you." He offered the man a small smile, his hand resting lightly against his shoulder for a moment. However, the thing that troubled him most was that there had definitely not been a box in that palace in Kviria, the Capital of Conansia Svelera, he would have felt it. Something that dark left behind a stain, like the one that had been all through the earth beneath Svelera and the one that had infected Griesela's left eye.

"Sire..."

"Don't worry yourself about it." He nodded once towards the man's son and Nicola. "Think about your fiancé and your son. They are what are important right now." Yuuri turned away, slipping away as quietly as he had come, deeply troubled by what Griesela had told him and what information Heathcrife had provided to Conrart before they had returned to the Great Demon Kingdom.

* * *

><p>Yuuri sat behind his desk, a map spread out across the cleared surface, the edges of the parchment held down by several thick folders that were waiting to be reviewed. His jaw clenched slightly as he gazed down at it and traced his fingers across several different countries, mapping them slowly with his fingers, feeling where the quill had left a track etched in the thick browned paper. It was so much bigger than himself. As he gazed down at the outline of the Great Demon Kingdom, he realised just how small they were in comparison to the size of their world.<p>

How many countries stared back at them across the racial divide? How many countries would celebrate their fall? The reality was that they were still quite alone and that truly did make them vulnerable to any moves Big Cimaron might make against them. Though Cavalcade and Conansia Svelera stood with them, they needed more allies.

"Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time." Yuuri quoted something he had read long before, his fingertips trailing over the two countries that now stood at their backs where only a year before they would not have hesitated to attack their borders if given the chance.

"You are afraid our steps might falter?" Conrart stood in the doorway, his shoulder braced against the wood and his cinnamon eyes regarding Yuuri with quite concern.

"I can feel it, Conrart." His voice was quiet, his expression deeply troubled as he studied his beloved's features as he slowly entered the room and shut the door behind him. "I can feel the darkness... the taint of it... the festering wounds it leaves behind."

Conrart seated himself on the edge of the desk, gazing down at the map and the dark marks that Yuuri's quill had left on it, a trail of destruction that almost defied explanation.

"I'm afraid of what I've missed Conrart." His fingertips tapped first against the marking that he had placed beside Kviria. "It started here. The darkness... I _felt_ it. It was like a sickness that had infected the very earth with its presence. I am certain now from what Griesela say that it was indeed one of the Forbidden Boxes."

The man stiffened abruptly at that, his cinnamon eyes widening with alarm. "Are you certain?"

"Yes." He picked up several books that sat on the edge of the desk and slide them across towards Conrart, lightly tapping the cover of one. "I have been attempting to work out exactly what I had sensed when I was in Svelera and also when I was healing Griesela, I had suspected something but he confirmed it. The problem is... there was nothing in the palace in Svelera like that... the darkness hasn't been back since the revolution there."

"You suspect..."

"I will need to talk to Izula about it, she might have seen... but from what Tomas told me, they had cargo with them on the trip to Schildkraut besides her. A Forbidden Box is something... that would be quite valuable if someone wanted to trade it for help or... getting back a kingdom."

"Where were they intending to head with the Box?"

Yuuri pulled a slip of folded paper from within the book's pages and offered it out to his husband. Conrart's fingers curled around the edge of it and he was quickly unfolding it, reading over the information in it and lifting troubled eyes to Yuuri. "A Box in the hands of Big Cimaron could spell disaster."

"The problem is that Tomas checked the records and apparently their ship never made it that far, it ended up stopping over in the country of Caloria before being trapped there by Small Cimaron patrol vessels. That is where the trail ends." Yuuri rubbed a hand through his hair and sighed softly. "I'll talk to Adalbert about it. He has a lot more experience with human matters and better contacts then we have. For now... all we can do is look for more clues."

* * *

><p>"Come here."<p>

Conrart's head lifted slightly from where he had been reading over several documents that Yuuri had given to him earlier, one chocolate brow lifting in silent question. "Yuuri?"

"Come here, my beloved Prince." The King crooked a finger at the man, feeling a smile tug at his lips as he allowed all other thoughts to wash out of his mind as he gazed at his uniform clad husband.

The soldier stood beside the chair by the full length mirror that sat in their 'dressing' space, his head cocked to the side as he studied his lover with a curious gaze. "Sweetheart?"

Leaning up, Yuuri's mouth touched lightly against Conrart's while his hands were stroking down the length of the man's body and urging him to sit in the chair before the mirror. The dark haired man hovered just out of reach of the half-breed, giving him a playful little grin before slowly beginning to strip off his clothes, his hands sliding down across his pale skin as it was revealed. It was a slow action, one that had Conrart's attention riveted on him within moments.

Scarred hands brushed over his own nipples and down his belly to caress himself just once. Lips parting in a low seductive moan, his obsidian eyes were dark and hungry with desire for Conrart. "Only you have ever done this to me..." One finger traced along his hardness, circling the tip and causing a shudder to run through the length of his body. "Only your touch... makes me _explode_..."

One large hand reached out towards Yuuri, calloused palm longing to caress the delicately flushed skin of his lover's body, yet Yuuri stepped back when he attempted to reach for him. Shifting in the chair he had been settled in, he groaned as he realised the game that his lover was playing with him and knew that if he did stand up the game would end.

"Do you know how beautiful you are, Conrart? Have you ever seen the loveliness of your face when you come deep inside of me?" The King was not shy about his body around his husband. "I want you to see what I see."

Stepping forwards and between his lover's spread thighs, he lightly wrapped his hands around his lover's chin and jaw, tipping that handsome face upwards so he could gaze into those silvery cinnamon eyes. Thumbs brushed along the soft lower lip, before his head dipped down and he kissed him. The kiss was gentle, a brush of lips sliding together, adoring and loving.

"I want you to see the man I do. The one who always has my back no matter what may happen. The man who has always strived to become more than what he had been born with." Their foreheads touched lightly together. "Beloved. I would not be here now if it were not for your strength and courage. I love you more than words can ever express... more than actions can ever show."

Conrart's heart ached in his chest at those words, feeling this moment become etched upon the surface of his heart and mind so that he would never forget this time with his beloved. "Yuuri..."

A fingertip touched against the soldier's lips, silencing him. "This is for you."

Dropping slowly to his knees between Conrart's legs, he was allowing his lover to reach out and draw the clasp free from his hair allowing the dark black fall to sweep down over his bare shoulders. Unbuckling the man's sword belt he slipped it free from where it wrapped around his hips, easing it down to the ground before working on the buttons of the man's embroidered black jacket. It and the shirt were soon following the sword and dropping to the floor beside the chair.

His mouth touched against the spot just over Conrart's heart, lingering there when he could feel the pounding beat just beneath his touch. Fingertips sliding over both nipples, he felt the man shudder as they were slowly stroked, thumbs rubbing the tight buds and delighting in the groan that rumbled up from deep in the man's chest.

"Look at yourself." Yuuri purred from where his cheek was nuzzling against Conrart's belly, tongue flicking against his navel teasingly. "_Look_."

Conrart's head did just that, managing to lift upwards, his breath hitching at the sight of himself, the luminous silver eyes glittering back at him. Though it was the sight of them together in such an intimate position, with Yuuri glancing back over his shoulder with a naughty little smile tugging at his lips, their eye meeting in the mirror.

Pants were slowly being tugged downwards, and down his legs as his boots were tossed aside with a thump against the stone floor, baring the man's body and proud erection to his lover's gaze and touch. Yuuri's mouth touched against the long scar that ran across Conrart's right side, licking over it lovingly. His hands were cupping Conrart intimately, the scars on his palms just adding to the friction that ran up the length of that hardness thumb circling the head and spreading the hot drops of fluid over the tip.

A sharp intake of breath followed his entire length being swallowed by that hot mouth, his head arching back as his hands rested ever so lightly on Yuuri's shoulderblades. Privately he relished the sensations, the knowledge that this man loved him no matter what happened warmed him from the inside out. Heat flared through him as the suction increased, his gaze was riveted however to the mirror where he watched his lover caressing himself intimately, two fingers sliding up into his body to prepare himself. The muffled vibrations of Yuuri's own pleasure fluttered through him, igniting something so hot inside of him he almost spilled himself right there and then.

"Watch." Yuuri breathed, softly against Conrart's ear as he reluctantly pulled away from that throbbing length, tongue flicking over his lips in appreciation for the taste that had been left in his mouth.

The lithe man shifted forwards, one hand resting against Conrart's shoulder for balance as he straddled his lover's lap, still lifting himself upwards so that his free hand could grasp his husband's erection and guided it to his prepared entrance.

Conrart was transfixed as he watched his own length slide slowly into Yuuri, being swallowed up by tight hot muscles and trembling flesh. It was highly erotic and left him achingly hot as he wrapped his own arms around his beloved, cradling him close and beginning to rock upwards deeper into that body. His length stroked against his lover's sweetspot, making him arch and whimper in response to the movements, Yuuri's head dropping against his shoulder, dark hair spilling over across his back and throat. Soft little pants caressed his ear while his lover rode him slowly, their joining a slow sharing of pleasure.

He watched them in the mirror like that, Yuuri's pale skin against his own tawny gold, their bodies intertwined intimately, two parts of the same whole. His mouth dipped and lightly touched against Yuuri's throat, leaving a kiss just behind his ear where his lover liked and cradled the man tightly to him.

Conrart couldn't help the silent tears that were beginning to streak down his cheeks and down onto Yuuri's skin, his fingers curling into the dark locks and just holding the man close while they moved together. His heart had melted within him, unable to contain all the emotions that surged within him in that one moment they shared. "I love you." He breathed out, entire body shaking as heat began to crest within both of their forms. "Yuuri... _God_... I love you so much... it _hurts_."

Yuuri cried out as he came hard, muscles wrapping fiercely around his lover's length, holding him in deeply, his entire body shaking as hot fluid spilled against Conrart's stomach. The half-breed quickly followed, coming deeply within Yuuri with a deep groan of completion and a hoarse whisper of his husband's name.

They stayed like that, curled together, unaware of the world around them, only of sound of their mingled breathing in the silence of the room. It was their world. One that they could only find together.

Yuuri was the first to lift his head, gentle fingertips brushing away Conrart's tears and licking them off his fingertips, leaving no trace of them on his lover's cheeks either. A soft kiss on each eyelid, his cheek brushing against his beloved's. "Know that no one could ever replace you in my heart. You are the only one that has ever touched my soul."

The man's large hand was drawn upwards and against his chest over his heart, his scarred palm covering the back of it.

"Remember, this beats only for you."

* * *

><p><strong>Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Yuuri Shibuya Weller stood in the inner sanctum of the Tomb of the Great One, his lips pressing into a hard line as he studied each of the candles that burned within the vast space. "What do you have planned?" Gracefully moving towards the three stairs that led onto the dais, he settled himself onto them, his expression grave.

A swirl of magic was slowly flickering around him, a spark of fire that shimmered just beyond his grasp, like a stray thought just out of reach that would answer so many questions.

"I know you are there." His hands curled together between his spread knees, his body leaning forwards while he tried to get a better sense of the being that hovers just on the other side of the barrier between the living and the dead. "You've orchestrated this from the beginning, Shinou."

A shimmer hovered before him, half way down the length of the long carpet runner that ran from the door to the dais. It was indistinct, like an after image left behind on reality in the shape of a man he recognised from one of the portraits that hung in the castle.

"I'm not foolish enough to think that all this hasn't been your doing in one form or another." Yuuri's sigh was soft, yet it seemed to echo loudly in the vast chamber, bouncing off the walls and ceiling high above him. "Nothing seems to be by chance with you. Too many coincidences."

The figure seemed to nod ever so slightly in response to his statement, acknowledging the veracity of his assumptions.

"From Julia's death... to my arrival here and my first meeting with Adalbert Von Grantz." Considering the entire problem now, his eyes widened sharply, his head jerking up as he stared once more at the phantom hovering there before him. "You." He was on his feet, brows lifting sharply as he suddenly realised the answer to one question that had been plaguing him for a long time. "It was _you_ that Ken Murata spoke about before he allowed me to return here the time I was forced back to Earth." He had only assumed it might be Shinou, but seeing the man now... even just a shadow of him confirmed that suspicion.

It was making a slow kind of horrible sense, one that rubbed him the wrong way in some part of his soul. The silent knowledge that his life was being manipulated by this man, that the pieces of the giant puzzle were being pushed into place for him to see one at a time.

"I want you to understand this right now, Shinou." Yuuri was face to face with the shadow, his expression grim, obsidian eyes blazing with emotion. "I do not take kindly to being _manipulated_, no matter how necessary it may seem to you." He could almost make out the faint spark of blue fire that blazed back at him, before the blonde head dipped ever so slightly again in acknowledgement. "If you want me to find the Forbidden Boxes and dispose or fix them, all you needed do was ask. It is my intention to do just that. I'm not a tool, Shinou and neither are those I care about." His expression darkened for a moment. "Understand here and now, if your plans harm any of them, I will find a way to make you regret your presumptions and _meddling_. I am not frightened by you. I will protect all that I love as the dragons do their young."

"Majesty?"

Ulrike stood in the doorway to the vast chamber, her eyes wide as she stared at the King whom was standing in the middle of the space looking as if he had been speaking to someone.

"Forgive my intrusion, Ulrike." The King offered her a small smile, though his dark eyes remained deeply shadowed. "I will leave you to your meditations." And he vanished out into the Tomb without another word, slipping away but having left an impression behind on the Tomb's hidden occupant.

* * *

><p><strong>Guess what! Next chapter is THE WEDDING! XD Before all hell does break lose. <strong>


	26. Part 26: Joy And Sorrow

**Author's Note: This chapter marks the end of the first 'arc' within this particular story. My plan is to write out the betrayal 'arc' in full between episodes 27 and 41, however the rest of season two will be shortened to make this story a manageable size for me as I will be going back to university in a month. I will be doing many of the very relevant episodes in season 2 after the betrayal arc, I might add a list of the episodes after the end of this next arc and accept requests from people to add in a extra favourite episode or two. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing. **

**Dedicated to everyone whose been following this story from the beginning. I hope you like it!**

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

There was a sudden roar from Gwendal as the windows to Annisina's workshop suddenly blew outwards with a powerful rush of air and smoke, which continued to billow out of the opening in thick dark plumes.

Conrart's head jerked upwards at the sound, his gaze turning towards the source of the noise and amusement touched the corners of his lips. He pushed himself away from the wall that he had been leaning against, his long brown locks tickling against his cheeks as he chuckled softly to himself. It was quite apparent that Anissina had not only returned from her time in Schildkraut but was also making up for lost time in tormenting Gwendal.

The windows close to where Conrart had been leaning abruptly opened and Wolfram and young Greta stuck their heads out to look towards the source of the loud sound and caustic smoke. Both looking quite puzzled over it, though hearing the little girl asking about 'Miss Anissina's experiments' always brought a smile to his face, knowing in that moment that Greta was no longer the reserved child she had been when she had first appeared literally on their front doorstep.

The quietness of this particular day had stirred memories in him, ones that he couldn't quite send back to where they belonged in the box in the back of his mind. Thoughts of Julia and the time he had first met her when his mother had called him in to look over materials for the makings of a wedding dress. Though he was already married, the reality of this day... the fact that their marriage would be public and for the eyes of the people sent a quiet jolt of anxiety through him.

"You know if you keep frowning like that, you'll end up with lines on that dashing face of yours, Lord Weller." Odell Von Wincott studied the face of the younger Demon Tribesman with a small hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "It has been quite some time since I was last able to greet you."

"I..." Conrart was startled, his body jerking to a stop at the sight of the grey haired gentleman dressed in elegant white robes trimmed in Wincott blue. "_Sir_."

"There is no need for formalities between friends." His smile brightened as he moved forwards, his hands lightly resting on each of the taller man's shoulder's, squeezing warmly. "I am glad to see you looking so well. It seems the idea of marriage agrees with you, though... I can't help but think you might have some jitters?"

"Yes..." He laughed softly at himself, running a hand back through his hair and brushing the long strands away from his eyes before they slipped back down into place. "It's not about Yuuri. I have never had doubts about my love for him."

"I would hope not." The dark haired King grinned at both men, obsidian eyes sparkling with amusement. "Considering the fact that you already married me." A fingertip tapped Conrart's nose lightly, the slender man pressing a soft kiss against the underside of Conrart's jaw, nuzzling him softly before shifting to stand beside him. "You, my beloved Prince, belong at my side and be given the recognition the King's Consort deserves."

"Sire."

Obsidian eyes lifted to gaze into the face of a man he instantly recognised, his body jolting backwards and thumped back against Conrart's chest in shock. Arms wrapped around him from behind, cradling him protectively as all the air seemed to rush straight out of Yuuri. One word echoed in his ears and deep within his heart as he gazed at the kind older gentleman with the deep blue eyes that reminded him of the sea. Julia had left tiny pieces of herself behind in his soul... and it seemed this as well had remained.

"_Father_." The words were whispered so softly the two other men almost missed them. "I... I've missed... you."

Yuuri trembled the moment he said it, his hand fisting into the sleeve of Conrart's jacket. It was the first time that he had ever felt Julia... a tingling in the back of his mind, an awareness that he was desperately attempting to dispel. It felt like someone was literally _walking_ on Yuuri's grave.

"I beg your pardon, Sire?" Odell Von Wincott's blue eyes had widened ever so slightly at the word, confusion entering his expression.

"I..." The King shook his head slightly, offering them both a weak smile. "Forgive me, I have just realised I have left something unattended to." His fingers released Conrart's sleeve and he was drawing himself from his lover's grasp, even though he could almost feel Conrart wanting to protest. "I hope to be able to talk to you at dinner, Lord Von Wincott. My apologies."

Yuuri practically vanished as quickly as he had appeared and it immediately concerned Conrart. It was not like Yuuri at all to be so shaken and off-balance like that. It had shocked him to hear Yuuri call this man 'father'. He was quickly excusing himself as well, hurrying in the most likely direction that the man had gone.

* * *

><p>"Conrart."<p>

Startled, the soldier turned at the sound of the familiar voice, his head tipping to the side catching a glimpse of Gurrier Yozak only a few steps behind him. Conrart turned to face him, brows drawing together slightly at the look that covered the man's face, though his own head twisted back around, still searching for Yuuri. He needed to make sure his beloved was alright, whatever had just happened had shaken both of them abruptly. "Yozak." He greeted.

A hand curled around Conrart's wrist, drawing him back completely to face him. Blue eyes reflecting the burning emotions which had consumed him deeply for so long. What he had seen had given him cause to doubt the King's statement that he wasn't _Julia_. His reaction to Julia's father had been significant and another bit of evidence to support his theory. "Please..."

Yozak stepped in closer to Conrart, their bodies almost touching because they stood so close. His free hand lifted upwards to slowly caress his fingertips across his friend's cheek, brushing over the warm skin tenderly in long strokes. However, his heart ached when Conrart actually flinched back away from the intimate touch, something he had never done before. _Why_? The single question was a dull ache in his chest.

"Why not me?" His amber gold brows furrowed together, heart in his eyes as he gazed at the man he loved beyond all reason. "Why not me, Conrart?"

"Yozak... please don't."

"_Why_ not **me**?" And both hands lifted to curl around Conrart's jaw, preventing the man from pulling back as he leaned in and kissed him deeply, attempting to spark something... _anything_ within the man he had known for a lifetime.

Conrart's mouth was firmly closed against the action, his head twisting back and away, jerking his face from Yozak's grasp. His expression darkened as he regarded his friend, jaw clenching slightly in response to what the man had attempted to do. Not a single silver spark had been set alight in those cinnamon eyes, revealing the ineffectiveness of the man's actions for all to see.

"Why?" Gurrier Yozak felt his heart twisting in his chest, the organ throbbing painfully at the rejection. "I have always been here. I have always been at your side. I waited for you... I've been _waiting_ for you for so long. Don't you understand how much I love you? I know you Conrart more than that boy ever will, I faced those demons alongside you."

Conrart remained silent. His eyes closed as he felt the dull throb in his chest, knowing that he should have addressed this years ago. He had known in some form or other... he had seen it in those intense blue eyes... yet he had never wanted to hurt his man whom he considered a brother.

"Is it because of his soul? Is it the fact that he was Julia? You saw him... Conrart. You saw how he reacted to Odell Von Wincott. You were the one who carried his soul to the other world. He is a child compared to you... can he... honestly give you what you need?"

"I can't be the man you want me to be, Gurrier." The half-breed answered softly, his hand lifting to rub at the dull ache in his chest knowing that his words would deeply affect the friendship that had been so strong between them until... Yuuri's arrival. He had barely seen the man since that fateful day when his life had turned upside down and he had fallen in love with a man who loved him more than words could describe. The memory of the time they had been skin to skin before the mirror, two parts of the same whole. "I can't love you like you wish me to."

It had been difficult for Conrart to accept at first that his sword was not as necessary to protect his King as he thought. Yuuri was not a man whom required constant protecting, but he had found a different way he could protect his beloved... At first it had been odd for him, no one had ever truly sought emotional comfort from his before, but Yuuri did. Yuuri sought his touch, the warmth of his arms and he was the only one the King trusted to do so.

"Conrart..."

"Yuuri is _not_ Julia." He knew the difference, Yuuri shared some things with Julia and that was all. Yuuri was the other half of his soul. Tiny stars of silver burned within his eyes as they settled on Yozak's face. "I love Yuuri, Gurrier. There is nothing that will ever change that fact." A warm comforting breeze fluttered around Conrart's feet, ruffling his hair tenderly, before he swallowed hard around the lump that had formed in his throat. "I don't want this to stand between us, Yozak."

Yozak's expression became hard and unreadable, the man's blue eyes turning a touch cool. However, it was clear beneath the surface the man's heart had shattered.

"I'm not the one who is meant to be your other half." Long chocolates brushed against his cheeks softly as he let out a soft breath, drawing warm air into his lungs. "One day, Gurrier Yozak, you will find someone who is meant to be that person. The one who sees you for all your talents and flaws... and loves you all the more for them."

Eyes clenched shut, pain running across the man's face as he turned away from Conrart and took a step away. "You... don't understand. I love _you_... I have for decades. Why... can't you understand... I..." He cut himself off, the muscles in his jaw rippling with tension, knowing that arguing would only widen the developing gap between them. It was the one thing that Yozak hadn't been able to stand, the vast gulf that had developed in the last year. Conrart no longer turned to him... but to Yuuri... his brothers and even Adalbert at times.

"I belong to Yuuri." It was the simple truth. Every part of him belonged to his King and husband, and it soothed his heart in ways he couldn't describe knowing there was always someone who would welcome him with open arms.

Yozak couldn't help the unexpected flare of jealousy that surged within him, but was startled by the fact it wasn't directed towards Yuuri Shibuya Weller, but instead at Conrart. The expression on the man's face, one of pure contentment and fulfilment, the half-breed's eyes had softened at the thought of his husband and it made Yozak aware of one fact. The thought of Conrart had never elicited that kind of reaction within him. "Go to him then."

"Gurrier..."

"Go." The man whispered roughly, turning away and not looking back as those dark emotions simmered within his heart, ones that couldn't be alleviated so easily.

* * *

><p>Glass shattered beneath Yuuri's clenched fist, tiny shards tinkling to the ground and scattering around his boots while he stared into the cracked and broken image before him. Tiny rivulets of blood seeped from around the fragments of glass that had become imbedded in his knuckles. Emotion surged within him and his hand lifted to smash into it a second time, wanting nothing more than to banish the image of his own face from the mirror's faceted surfaces.<p>

However, a strong hand curled around his wrist, preventing him from doing worse damage to himself and he glared down at the darkly tanned fingers preventing him from acting on the rage building within him. The dark verdant green fabric gave away who it was that had come upon him.

"It is not like you to be destructive, Little Brother."

"Am I like her, Gwendal?" Intense obsidian eyes started upwards at his brother-in-law searching for an honest answer to his question. He didn't doubt Conrart's love for him. He just doubted his own personality and memories, was he merely a shadow of Julia? Was he just a vessel for her soul? It had never bothered him so much as it did right at that moment.

"Who?"

"_Julia_." Yuuri's obsidian eyes closed tightly at the shadow he had glimpsed in his own reflection in the fragmented glass that had remained within the frame of the mirror. Sightless blue eyes gazed back at him, haunting him in a way he had never felt before. "Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott." The dark haired King was surprised by his own flickering resentment, the emotion burning up along his throat and filling his mouth thickly.

Gwendal stilled at that, his fingers loosening a little around the King's wrist, but when warm blood trickled down over his fingers from what Yuuri had done to his hand his eyes returned to the man's face. "I will answer you if you allow me to tend that for you." Seeing Yuuri injured would upset his brother and the entire castle, everyone was extremely fond of their King and none liked to see him hurt.

Yuuri gave in, nodding once, his jaw clenching a little.

Both men were soon entering Gwendal's office, the Noble indicating for the King to seat himself on the couch. Gwendal pulled over a chair and found a set of tweezers and several other items that he set down beside him on the table. Soon he had the King's hand stretched out before him, Yuuri not making a sound of protest as large slivers of glass were pulled from his flesh and alcohol was used to clean the wounds.

"You are alike in some ways." Gwendal admitted after several silent moments in contemplation of the question Yuuri had put to him. "Some of your compassion, your ability to heal others... a few other small things..." For once, the man felt like he could truly offer something to his younger brother-in-law. "But you are both very different people, Brother. I assure you." A small, wry smile tugged at his lips. "There is a fire in you, Yuuri. You are a warrior and a leader of men. She..." Even Gwendal seemed to struggle for words. "She was almost transient. A warm morning light... one that touched people with its beauty before it faded away..."

"Born to die." That words were almost like a bitter taste in his mouth.

"What is it that is truly bothering you, Yuuri?"

The King stared down at his hand that rested in Gwendal's grasp. Swallowing hard around the large lump that had formed in the back of his throat, his other hand curled into a fist against his thigh. "If Julia had lived... and I had not been born... would... would Conrart have found happiness with her? We share the same soul..."

Now that was a rather difficult question to answer.

"No." Gwendal gazed into the man's eyes steadily. "He might have been happy for a time... but in the end I think that he would have been unhappy. Julia does not share your... passion." He wasn't speaking ill of the dead, but being honest about what he felt would have happened. "Conrart is a warrior by nature... it is a vital part of who he is and for all her understanding and compassion Julia could never understand why sometimes fighting is necessary. It is the same for Adalbert... Julia would have been unable to truly make the man happy. I fear..."

"Julia brought everyone around her peace. It was something Conrart craved... however in the end, he would have given into her wishes in regards to fighting and it would have taken a vital part of what and who he is in an effort to please her. " The charcoal haired Tribesman let out a soft breath, his hands carefully wrapping bandages around Yuuri's hand and wrist. "_You_ are what Conrart needs to be happy. I have never seen my brother so alive, Yuuri. He needs _you_."

Yuuri swallowed hard at that, his eyes lingering on Gwendal's face before dropping to the floor, the man was trying to take in those words in hopes of easing the gnawing doubts that simmered in his heart.

"I have never seen this kingdom flourish as much as it has under your care. In this past year that you've been with us, I have seen this broken kingdom being put back together and given new life. Our streets are filled with children's laughter and so many people again. The amount of border skirmishes has decreased dramatically because of the foreign aid schemes you have implemented and also the negotiations you suggested." Though Gwendal himself had handled a number of those negotiations, it had been Yuuri's affect on him that had made him actually open himself to the possibility of peace with their immediate neighbours. "You have given us all life."

Obsidian eyes were wide as they started at Gwendal in shock, heat actually rising to his cheeks after a few moments. "I... I did that?"

Large hands settled on Yuuri's shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. "I might not have liked your ideas at the time... I admit I am at times resistant to change... but in the end you have been right." Dark cobalt blue eyes gentled, a small smile coming to the man's lips. "You gave me back parts of my family I thought I had lost. I would have been destroyed by my own guilt if I had been allowed to harm Griesela, I know that now." Amusement touched his expression, his words softening. "Have a little more faith in your choices and yourself."

* * *

><p>Fingertips lightly brushed against Yuuri's cheek, before tucking the long black strands just behind his ear and made his eyes flutter open in response to the gentle caress. A soft sleepy sigh escaped him as his head lifted from the desk where it had rested, his obsidian eyes blinking sleepily as he regarded his lover with a long dazed look, a smile coming to his lips at the sight of Conrart leaning over him.<p>

"My Little Dragon..." Conrart's smile was small, worry creasing his brow over the fact that Yuuri had actually been asleep sprawled over his desk, something the man never did.

Yuuri turned on the chair and his arms lifted upwards, stretching out and letting out a soft murmur of contentment when Conrart reached down and easily scooped him up, cradling him close. The King practically coiled himself around the man, legs curling around his trim hips and his arms looping around the man's neck. His face pressed itself against Conrart's throat, burying himself in both the scent of the man he loved and also the feel of him.

Conrart was moving them both to the couch where he settled on his back, Yuuri being sprawled across his chest with the action while he rested his head on the cushion there. One hand lifted to stroke comfortingly along his beloved's back and cupped the nape of his neck, keeping him protectively close.

"Do you want to tell me about what happened?" Conrart asked softly, dropping a kiss onto the top of his lover's head tenderly.

Yuuri stirred a little then, his lips lightly touching the slow pulse throbbing just beneath his husband's skin. "I..." He stopped, feeling the words bubbling up from within him, fighting to escape. His injured hand tucked itself against Conrart's side, not wanting to worry the man with the fact that he had hurt himself. "I'm..."

"I love you, Yuuri."

Those four words disarmed him like nothing else could and what emotional shields he had shattered so easily beneath Conrart's concern and love.

Yuuri found himself spilling everything out every last thought that had so distressed him earlier, speaking about his talk with Gwendal and his worries about Julia. Though his brother-in-law had been able to sooth most, he had still not quite been able to shake the last of those doubts from his heart or mind.

"Oh, Yuuri." He breathed out, hugging the man more tightly to his body, tipping his head up and kissing him deeply, unable to help the wave of understanding that filled him. "What I felt for Julia is _nothing_ compared to what I feel for you. I may have loved her at one time, but... I did realise that I wouldn't have been happy with her. Gwendal is right..." It was hard for him to admit to out-loud. "I would have had peace for a time in her arms... but... no matter how I want peace, I need to have a reason to live. A reason to fight and she couldn't give me that."

"My soul..."

"Is _yours_." Conrart responded quickly. "Not Julia's. It might have been, but it isn't now. You are not Julia. You are the one who won my heart."

"You always know how to say the right thing..." Yuuri allowed his face to press back in against his lover's shoulder, just settling in close against him and feeling himself relax as hands were caressing along his back slowly. "Now... you had a few _jitters_."

Mouth finding Conrart's ear, he slowly traced his tongue around the man's lobe, teeth tugging playfully at it as he continued to tease his lover softly, nose rubbing against his cheek softly. His good hand reached down to curl around Conrart's left hand, fingertip slowly sliding over the ring that rested just there, feeling the patterns that had been etched into the metal.

A soft startled sound escaped the soldier while his body shuddered as Yuuri did something with his mouth that should have been made illegal and left him very aware that his beloved was stretched out over him like a living blanket. "I am not worthy..."

"Not worthy?" Their cheeks rubbed together. "You are the most worthy person in this kingdom for such a position. You are far more important and precious to the people of this nation than you give yourself credit for. Before I came, it was you who spoke up for the people, the one who visited the villages to makes sure they had what they needed. You protected the innocent and defended their rights." Lapping softly at the corner of the man's lips, their noses brushing softly as he shifted himself upwards a little on Conrart's chest.

"I... wish only to serve them..."

"And that is what we do. We do not rule because of the power we have been given, we _serve_. We serve the people in what capacity we can."

A hand carefully closed over Yuuri's injured one, Conrart's cinnamon eyes sparked with flecks of silver in surprise as he drew his beloved's arm upwards so that he could see the bandages coiled around Yuuri's hand and wrist. "Yuuri."

"Just me and a mirror." He soothed, pressing a kiss against Conrart's lips. "Gwendal fixed me up. I'll be as right as rain soon enough. I'll see Gisela about it later when she returns."

"Sweetheart." The bandaged knuckles were drawn to his lips and he pressed a kiss against the white cotton bound around them. "I hate seeing you hurt."

"I'll stay clear of mirrors then..." Though he couldn't help but smile a little in remembrance. "Though I have to admit... sometimes mirrors are quite _handy_."

* * *

><p><strong>The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Laughter and cheers followed Conrart as his horse pounded through the streets of the Capital, his horse swerving between passing people, the animal answering quickly to the slightest tug on the reins or the shift of its rider in the saddle. The man's long black coat fluttered around his thighs, his long hair swept back as he urged the animal faster. His heart was racing with anticipation and thrill of the chase... he had been surprised when Wolfram had announced merely an hour before the ceremony that Yuuri had been 'kidnapped' by Adalbert, much to the delight of the guests.

It was an old tradition, one that had popular during his father's age amongst the Demon Tribe. It was a challenge to the 'groom' to find and return his bride to the wedding ceremony before it was meant to take place. It was the proof to what lengths the man would go to, to keep his bride and protect her or him in this case.

All of his doubts had slipped away, his heart warming in his chest to know all would recognise what they shared, that their love was strong enough to withstand any challenge.

"Find him, Prince!" A young woman called out to him, her face bright with delight.

It was clear why this tradition had been followed, the entire city had turned out of their houses, joining in the celebrations and feasts that were being held in all of the squares to celebrate the marriage of the 27th Demon King to Lord Conrart Weller. The entire city had been lit up with brightly coloured lanterns and torches, illuminating the normally dark streets, it reminded him of the Fire Festival where he had taken the marriage pledge with Yuuri.

"Sire!" One man called from the corner of one of the streets, his arms waving. "I saw them not a moment ago! Hurry, Sire! Hurry!"

And Conrart gave a warrior's cry and his horse took off down the street, hooves sounding clear against the cobbled surface, he leaned forwards over the neck of his mount. Eyes swirling a vivid silver, he caught a flash of a dark horse disappearing around the curve in the road, two riders on its back.

Urging his horse to turn a corner nearest him, the dun stallion plunged down the narrow alleyway, hooves slipping a little against the stone, but soon they were out onto the street as it curved back around as it weaved its way down the steeper slope on this side of the city. And he grinned the moment he saw Yuuri's black horse coming towards them, Adalbert seated behind the King who was loosely tied at the wrists before him.

"I challenge you as is my right for the possession of the man whom you have taken from my home."

Dismounting in one easy motion, his hand dropped to his sword, feeling a heated thrill skitter up along his spine, his silvery eyes meeting those clear blue ones of his friend and comrade-in-arms Adalbert Von Grantz. Time had proven to the two men that they had more in common then they thought and a friendship had slowly formed, one that both of them prized.

The black horse drew to a halt several lengths away, nostrils flaring from its full out run, sides heaving with the effort. Yuuri's eyes were positively alive even though he was playfully gagged and loosely bound, his cheeks flushed with quiet exhilaration that had flooded him when Adalbert had snatched him up and slung him over one shoulder before being dumped on the back of his own horse. He knew of this particular tradition and had heard Cecilie suggesting it... but hadn't thought he would be gifted with a chance to do something so very much a part of Demon Tribe culture.

Adalbert dismounted with the same ease Conrart had displayed, his hand dropping to rest on the hilt of his sword. "And by what right do you claim this man?"

"That he is my pledged husband and my intended within the eyes of Shinou."

"What would you be willing to sacrifice in order to prove your devotion?"

Conrart straightened as he drew his sword slowly from its sheath, blade flashing in the warm glow of the torches that the city's inhabitancy carried with them as they lined the road way. "I offer my heart, my mind, my life and my soul. I would fight until the final breath has escaped me before I would forsake my beloved to the hands of another."

"Then lift your sword, Prince of the Great Demon Kingdom and prove your worth against me."

"I accept your challenge gladly."

The two men bowed slightly over their swords than they were charging each other with battle cries escaping them, blades clashing together in a meeting of steel against steel. They truly gave a show to the cheering crowds around them, their blades sparking as they slid, it was a challenge that neither wanted to back away from. It was a dance, their blades and feet moving in time to a music only they could hear.

Yuuri watched with delight as he watched Conrart fighting for him like that, it warmed a place within his heart that only this man could touch. The two spun in an elegant display of skill and technique, blades meeting again before Conrart caught Adalbert's with a swift hard strike against the tip and actually disarming the larger man. His sword's tip rested close to Adalbert's throat, lips turning upwards into a teasing smile.

"Surrender."

"Only if I have your word you will keep your promises you have made before the people of this kingdom."

"I swear, by blood and sword."

Adalbert bowed his head then, lifting his hands away from his sides, showing that he had no weapons on him. "I yield to you, warrior. Let all know your worth."

Conrart was stepping past Adalbert, his sword being sheathed in one easy motion. He approached the black mount and he reached out towards Yuuri, freeing the man from his loose bindings. The King reached out for him and wrapped his arms around Conrart's neck as he was drawn down off the back of his horse, their mouths met in a burning hot kiss, one that seared them down to their cores. Tongues tangling together, while Conrart allowed Yuuri's body to slide down against his own in an intimate gesture of their closeness.

The crowd was cheering for them, the roar of it deafening, but so warm that it filled both of the men with joy and made Adalbert grin.

"You better get your rears moving or you'll be late for your own wedding."

Yuuri was being drawn along by one hand, Conrart mounted his dun stallion and stretch out his hand towards his beloved Yuuri. The King wrapped his larger hand in the smaller scarred one and allowed him to pull him upwards and onto the horse's back behind him. Yuuri embraced Conrart from behind, face burying itself against the nape of Conrart's neck, lips touching just there beneath the wild chocolate locks.

The half-breed's hand dropped down to lightly stroke over the back of his lover's fingers and the arms that coiled tightly around his waist, his body being warmed by the man pressed intimately up behind him. The horse was soon heading back towards the brilliant lights of the castle, the city cheering them on and celebrating what was to come.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Conrart knelt before the dais that held the throne in the audience chamber of Covenant Castle, his heart was literally pounding right out of his chest and into his mouth, his entire body shuddering with the force of everything that was running through him. Swallowing hard around the lump there, he managed a glance back towards the door the moment the sound of the national anthem began to play and his world tipped itself over.

Yuuri stood regally, his clothing a rich black embroidered with silver at the collar and sleeves, a long furred cloak was clasped at his throat and flared out behind him. He looked every inch the Demon King, a simple yet elegant golden crown ringed his head, obsidians studding its polished surface. It was so much the man that Yuuri was, elegant, yet delighted by the simplest of things.

Gwendal stood to one side of him, before his arm was offered out to the King in a way that people weren't expecting but made Yuuri's face light up and he slipped his scarred hand into the crook of Gwendal's elbow allowing the man to escort him towards where Conrart was kneeling and where the priest stood waiting to join them officially before all of the nobles of the kingdom together in matrimony.

Conrart's lips turned upwards into a small startled smile when he caught the look on his brother's face, the joy that filled every feature for the first time in all the time Conrart had known him. There was such pride there, such joy. Gwendal's mouth was turned up in a wide smile, his dark blue eyes blazed brightly for all to see. It was something Conrart would never forget and forever treasure deep within his heart.

And the world seemed to slowly freeze around him, everything slowly coming to a halt as Yuuri came to stand beside him. The King slipped to his knees beside Conrart, his obsidian eyes flicking to the side for a moment his lips turning upwards into a smile meant only for Conrart before he was turning back towards the priest as the man began to speak the traditional words to both them and the crowds behind them. Adalbert and Gwendal standing back a pace on either side of them, guarding them and acting as witnesses to the ceremony.

Conrart turned to Yuuri, his hand reaching out to tenderly take the King's in his own, before bowing his head and saying the traditional vows. " I, Conrart Weller, take you, Yuuri Shibuya, to be my husband to share all prosperity and hardships we may face side by side. I humbly give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace, and pledge my faith and loyalty to you. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, encourage you to achieve all of your goals, to stand with you on all matters and never turn away from your side. Let all know my first loyalty is to you, Yuuri Shibuya, let them never question my honour and the strength of my pledge."

Yuuri's smile was tender and the dark eyes were filling with silent happy tears. His fingers tightened around Conrart's, his entire body trembling with the force of his emotions, his heart in his eyes and a single tear streaked down his cheek and length of his jaw. Yuuri however had changed his partially from the traditional vows as King to reflect what he felt within his heart.

" I, Yuuri Shibuya, Twenty-Seventh Demon King of the Great Demon Kingdom, take you, Lord Conrart Weller as my to be my husband to share all prosperity and hardships we may face side by side. I, take you to be my partner and consort, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. The past is important, but it is to the future our lives lay, together bound by the pledges we have made. On this day I vow always to stay true to you, no other shall ever claim my heart or soul. So it is with all meaning and sincerity; before them, our people and family, all I want and have to say, is I will love you."

Together they repeated the traditional pledge together. "We are united in deed and word, let all who hear know of our loyalty and acknowledge our pledge to guard and guide this kingdom and her people from all that may threaten us be it from outside or from within."

"Let all who witness these vows acknowledge their honesty and integrity. Let all who hear these vows acknowledge their love. Let all who see these vows being taken acknowledge their pledge to this kingdom and her people." The priest raised both hands over their heads. "Let Shinou hear their words and find them worthy. Let him know that they stand together bound and married by our laws."

The people that filled the chamber stood together. "We acknowledge them. Let none doubt!" The roared words bounced off the walls and filled the space with the people's acceptance of what they shared together.

The priest bowed before he was stepping away and taking a position off to the side as Yuuri rose to his feet to stand before Conrart Weller, one scarred hand resting upon his bent head. "Let all know that this man is my other half, the joy of my soul, the love that warms my very being. Let them acknowledge that position and let all see now your loyalty and devotion rewarded."

Wolfram stepped forwards, his head bowing as he offered out a silver crown to Yuuri, it too was simple in design with obsidians ringing it. The King turned and lifted it from Wolfram's hands before stepping closer to Conrart, allowing it to hover over the man's head.

"Do you pledge to protect this land, its people and its King?"

"I do, I swear it upon the heart of Shinou. Let him strike me down if I fail in my vows."

Setting the crown down onto Conrart's head, it settled easily there as if it was meant to be. "You truly are my fairytale prince, Conrart."

And Conrart's heart and soul wept with joy, knowing he had finally come home.

"Rise and greet your people, Prince Conrart Weller, Consort of the Demon King."

And Conrart did, rising to his feet and feeling Yuuri's hand resting on his shoulder, the warmth of the man leaning against his back and side as the room exploded with cheers and true delight.

* * *

><p>Lips parted from a devastatingly sweet kiss that seared them both all the way down to the bottom of their souls. Eyes meeting for one heart stopping moment, while Conrart's fingers caressed against Yuuri's cheekbones lightly.<p>

"I love you." Conrart breathed out. "My Yuu, my precious Little Dragon."

"As I love you, my beloved Prince." The first song was beginning to start, the warm strains of a waltz filling the vast great hall of Covenant Castle. "Dance with me, my Prince." His voice was soft, his hands lightly stroking against the back of Conrart's, caressing them ever so gently. Yuuri let out a squeak of delight when Conrart did just that, arms wrapping around him and drawing him in against his chest and out onto the empty dance space without hesitation.

The King tipped his head back and let out a laugh of pure joy when he was spun, their bodies brushing together as they were moving to the steps of a human waltz, the one that they had danced to on Vandavia Island just before their first wedding. It was a wild thing, bright and alive, like the love they felt for each other, a blending of two souls that had found a home together and a purpose to serve. He loved this dance, loved the feel of Conrart's hands sliding over his form, their bodies brushing and touching as they spun and twirled.

It was almost as if they were back there, the crowds surrounding them and a thousand lanterns decorating the vast space. Both were lost in the moment, hearts pounding in time to the beat. Conrart twirled Yuuri one last time until his back was against the powerful chest, their left hands together, fingers laced so that their pledge rings glittered together. The man dipped his head and brushed a tender kiss against that sensitive spot just behind Yuuri's ear. His voice was a soft whisper in his ear as he repeated their vows of months before.

"I vow my heart, I vow my soul, I vow my love.

I give myself to you willingly and without reserve.

I shall be the shield that guards you, the sword that protects.

Let all know that my name is yours.

Let all who see this pledge know of our unity in all things."

Tears glittered in Yuuri's eyes, sliding down his cheeks and he let out a sound of pure joy that echoed deep within his heart. Right there on the dancefloor before everyone, Conrart turned Yuuri in his arms and dipped his head to kiss their king deeply. They shared the love that they felt from deep within their bones, unable to pull away and unwilling to because they were destined for one another.

* * *

><p><strong>The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Out in the darkness that ringed the Great Demon Kingdom, an enemy long dormant began to stir from its twenty year slumber. Its fingers spreading out like skeletal hands across the landscape in the form of masked riders, ones that had been given a mission and a purpose.

And behind it all, a silent figure watched on, knowing that the happiness that the Kingdom of the Demon Tribe felt on that one blessed night would not last long. The wheels of fate and fortune were turning, grinding together and setting off sparks into that darkness. The actions of the past would not be left unanswered by the people of the present, the consequences of what had happened four thousand years before was about to be revealed.

* * *

><p><strong>Quick note. I hope you like this chapter! I just wanted to say that there will be major plot twists coming up in the betrayal arc, definitely many that you wouldn't have suspected. However, I'm going to deviate from the anime by writing not only what happens to Yuuri but also what happens to Conrart as well and the other people that join them in this 'adventure. Enjoy! <strong>


	27. Part 27: Betrayal Arc: Into The Fire

**Author's Note: This chapter marks the beginning of a much darker section in this fan fiction. There are significant twists as to who is the 'betrayer', it works for this plot so hopefully you'll enjoy the twists and turns I've worked out for this as much as I do. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing? LOL**

* * *

><p><strong>Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Dark ominous clouds drifted through the skies above the turrets of Covenant Castle, like inky fingers stretching their taint across the heavens and poisoning everything it touched. The banks of dark vapour condensed a little over the Tomb of the Great One, roiling as it was almost sucked into a tiny eddy that swirled above the hexagonally shaped building.

Within the Tomb's walls, Lady Ulrike felt those dark fingers, her body shivering as she attempted to focus her powers, her hands spread around a clear crystal sphere that sat before her. Breath catching in her throat as ripples of something hideous uncoiled themselves from within the sphere to snake up her arms, she desperately wanted to pull away. However, it kept a hold of her, muting her voice and attempting to suck her into it.

The entire building shuddered on its foundations, when thunder rolled across the landscape, strong and close. Lightning split the sky apart overhead, unnerving the two priestesses that attended to Ulrike in the main chamber of the Oracles where it was said the soul of the Great One resided.

"Lady Ulrike!" One of the women cried, sensing the distress of her mistress, brown eyes widening as she stared. "What... is in there?"

"His Highness..." Her heart raced in fear as she sensed the intentions of the darkness that was trying to eat her alive. She fought against it, managing to pull her hands free of the darkness that clouded the surface of the clear crystal. "Send a messenger to Covenant Castle! Quickly! His Majesty! Someone is trying to kill his Majesty!"

* * *

><p><strong>Tamoring Village, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Rain teemed down over them, almost soaking through their thick wool cloaks that were wrapped around their bodies. Lightning brightened the dark village streets momentarily before once again going dark, plunging the world back into thick shadow. The white washed buildings looked grey and empty in the gloom, the windows rattling in their frames with the next ear splitting peal of thunder.

Yuuri's face was tucked between Conrart's shoulder blades as he rode behind the man, both arms curled around the man's body as the horse continued forwards through the drenched streets of Tamoring. Several guards travelled with them, including Yozak and Gunter whom rode to one side of them, his eyes alert and taking in every twitching shadow and noise that echoed above the sounds of the gathering storm. The King had for once actually refused to ride alone after having admitted privately to Conrart he could barely stay in the saddle of his horse.

Magic fluttered and danced around him, skittering through his body and leaving him unnerved and his stomach churning almost violently. His premonitions had never been this strong before, the sense of wrongness that continued to follow them step by step as they had been heading to Von Voltaire lands for the first part of their two month honeymoon. The storm was not answering Yuuri's quiet whispers, its violence and intensity only increasing instead of abating.

"_Hurry_." Yuuri's whisper was frantic, his grip tightening on Conrart. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears, feeling the inky blackness rapidly gathering strength. It was nibbling at the edges of his own power, like leeches clinging to skin, they were sucking out his strength drop by drop.

There was a glint of something from one of the unshuttered windows along the street, it practically sparkled in the next blinding flash of lightning. The burst of bright light also illuminated a masked face hidden within the shadows of that room, a pale inhuman creature stared back at him.

"DOWN!" Yuuri screamed. "ARCHERS!"

His arms wrenching Conrart from the back of the mount with all of his weight, sending them both crashing hard to the cobbled street with a splash. The King rolled the soldier before he could react, covering him and allowing instinct to throw up several barriers against the hail of arrows that suddenly came hissing through the air. Two struck Conrart's horse where they had just been seated, sending the animal rearing and into a panic as pain sung through its body.

Several bolts bounded off of the shield that Yuuri had managed to form, clattering harmlessly to the ground. The King desperately trying to pull at his magic, but it was refusing to come. Someone was out there. Even with water all around him, his cries for it to answer his will were being swallowed up by peals of deafening thunder.

His head whipped up at the dull thud of metal finding its target. Yuuri stared in horror, while he watched Gunter catch a bolt right in the chest, unable to deflect it in time. The man's body jerked from the impact, and he slowly began to slide sideways, crumpling to the ground limply without a sound, his face shielded from view by his long lavender hair and the hood of his cloak.

"Protect him!" Yuuri shouted at the nearest guards that had been forced back towards where Gunter Von Christ had fallen by the rearing of Conrart's wounded stallion.

"This way!" Yozak called, yanking Yuuri up by the arm and dragging him forwards.

The King was following after the man, stumbling a few strides before finding his feet. While the guards were surrounding Gunter, dragging him into the nearest alleyway as arrow fire pinned them down and prevented them from responding to the threat to their King without finding themselves victims of the same poisoned bolts that had caught Gunter by surprise.

Their footfalls sounded painfully loud in the King's ears as they pounded down the street towards the church on the end, the most defensible building in the village. Conrart was right behind him, protecting their retreat, his sword deflecting several more bolts that continued to pour out of the darkness like rain from the aberrant storm clouds raging above them.

It was an ambush.

All the warnings that had been disturbing him since early morning were becoming clear by the moment as he could feel the noose beginning to tighten around their necks. He could feel them, two dozen at least, beginning to converge on them, their masked faces glinting white amongst the gloom that surrounded oozed from every stone and crack... spreading inky black and tainting each drop of rain. It felt like acid when it touched his skin, burning him deeply and sizzling softly as it struck the dragon fire that coiled under his skin in response.

Yozak thrust open the doors to the many storeyed wooden church, they clanged sharply against the walls on either side of it before Conrart came in after them. The two men were already blocking the door with a heavy beam of wood, leaving Yuuri standing in the aisle, dark water beginning to pool around his feet.

Yuuri flung the sodden cloak away from him, letting out a soft hiss while he backed up a step, his gaze dropping towards the dark tendrils that were beginning to slide beneath the door, whipping around both Yozak and Conrart's booted feet. However, neither man seemed aware of it... unaware of the shadows that were moving towards him, jaws snapping as the leeches that had been attacking him began to grow into beasts forged from water, much like his water serpents.

"_Majesty_." Yozak's head snapped around, his blue eyes narrowing as he watched Yuuri backing up, jaw clenching. "What are you...!"

"Can't you see them?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his hand reaching for his sword, slowly beginning to draw it from its sheath with a scrap of metal on metal.

"Yuuri?" Conrart's face was worried, uncertain what to make of the King's behaviour. "Love...?"

The doors suddenly snapped inwards with a creaking groan as it was battered on the other side, the beam that held them in place on the inner side of the barrier squeak in protest. Long fracture lines were beginning to radiate across the wood of the doors with each successive impact.

Conrart's cinnamon eyes blinked once as he gazed at Yuuri, his vision blurring as water sting his eyes and he was forced to blink it away. Yet as he did, he became aware of the shadows creeping across the space between himself and Yuuri, beasts with snapping jaws and razor sharp fangs, dripping acid water. The sound of their low menacing growls sent a cold shiver rippling down his spine, his blade immediately was in his hands, ready to defend his beloved from these fiends born of the darker side of magic.

"_Stay back_!" Yuuri ordered. "They only want me."

"**YUURI!**"

And with that the doors exploded inwards with a resounding crash, shards of wood and smoke filling the space and choking the air. It revealed half a dozen masked figures their hands curled around what looked like a primitive type of hand cannon.

It was all the distraction the creatures needed as Yuuri's head snapped up and he was throwing out a barrier to protect Yozak and Conrart from flying fragments that would have impaled their exposed bodies. They swarmed like insects on their prey, their bodies slamming into the King with enough force to send him staggering backwards, his sword attempting to slice through them but only met empty air. With a terrible roar, the dragon exploded from within him, fiery claws and teeth tearing into the watery bodies and making them howl with pain as parts of their flesh sizzled away once the fire magic touched them.

Yuuri's natural magic had been stripped from him, someone poisoning the very waters he relied on to strength him, however his bond to the soul of the dragon allowed him to produce his own magic. Massive wings unfurled, sending furniture scattering as his reality became distorted as he saw through the eyes of his other half.

He had to get to Yozak and Conrart. Yet, wave upon wave of watery bodies slammed into him, sending steam and acrid smoke spilling into the air as they were consumed by his fire. His beloved was in danger, it was all he knew, all that stirred within his heart.

Cannon balls of fire rained forth, the pair of half-breeds deflecting them as they charged, several of them streaking upwards and exploding against the wooden ceiling setting it alight. As the pair fought and cut down enemy after enemy, the bodies crumpling limply to the ground like dolls with their strings cut, they were being forced backwards and into the heat of the fire that was starting to take hold of the building. Smoke filled the air, stinging eyes and searing lungs.

With a roar, the dragon charged forwards, his body slamming into several of the masked attackers, jaws snapping their bodies up and dropping their limp corpses to the ground. The shimmering image of the dragon blazed brightly, having hidden Yuuri from view. However, he felt chains suddenly looping round his limbs, restrains that coiled up his limbs, beginning to bind him in place, the creatures latching onto the dragon's scaled hide and were clawing at it, digging into its body, attempting to get to the King protected within the dragon's flaming body.

He was trapped, just as Conrart and Yozak were being forced together back to back, the two men desperately fighting off the attackers that just kept coming, deflecting arrows and cannon balls that slammed into them, rattling their very bones with the concussive force.

A soul-wrenching bellow of rage escaped the Dragon, its body tearing itself free from the invisible bindings. Yuuri drawing the dragon back into his body and he was running forwards, swinging his sword and connecting with the body of an archer, sending him sprawling to the earth.

Conrart screamed Yuuri's name as the King staggered as he was attacked by another of the shadow beasts, its jaws sinking into his sword arm and distracted long enough to leave himself vulnerable to attack by several of the sword-wielding warriors. The man reached Yuuri in time, his blade connecting with two, using himself to block the final sword that was heading right for Yuuri's heart.

There was a gush of bright crimson blood glinting in the firelight of the blazing church around them, when the sword connected with living flesh, cutting through tissue and bone. The scarlet droplets sprayed across Yuuri's face, spattering his clothing as he stood there horrified as Conrart's left arm dropped away from the man's body and rolled across the floor.

Their eyes met for one terrible moment, as a sickening rattle coming up from the man's throat as an trio of arrows pierced his back, his body jolting forwards with the impact, when he had tried to shield Yuuri from the bolts.

Yuuri shrieked his beloved's name as he reached for him. Only to be stopped in his tracks when he felt something cold slide deep into his right side just beneath his ribs. His obsidian eyes dropped downwards to see a blade buried to the hilt in his side. The King's entire frame jolting in shock as it was twisted sideways, slashing deeply into his liver, his body shuddering when the blood stained blade pulled free of his side, blood soaking his shirt and down his pants leg.

Yozak caught Conrart as he toppled backwards, arms cradling his body as he sagged to the floor. Slowly Conrart's silver streaked eyes glazed over as blood ran like rivers from where the stump of his left arm remained. Yozak however stared at Yuuri, horror showing in the bright blue depths while he watched the King stagger backwards away from them and into the cascade of fiery embers that fluttered down from the inferno hovering just overhead.

The knife wielding assailant was forced to back away as he stood in the line of fire, the soldiers beginning to crowd in around them, weapons raised.

As blood pulsed out of his body, he felt a sickening surge of his own magic return in one last burst as the water in his own blood responded to his call and he felt the fluid pool beneath his swaying body. With everything in him, he stretched out a hand and summoned a vortex, feeling it skitter away from his grasp, but he refused to let it go. He cast it again, feeling the shimmering response as it spread out underneath Yozak and begun to sucked the two men into the shimmering blood red whirlpool created by Yuuri's blood. However, it appeared it wasn't fast enough, while a dozen fireballs exploded one on top of another in the exact spot the two men had been, swallowing them whole in a wall of amber gold flame, which Yuuri could do nothing to stop.

From above the ceiling creaked in protest as flames consumed its supports. There was a sickening crack and it came rushing towards him, just as he felt his boots being sucked away from underneath him. The world erupted with a thundering crash and an intense explosion of flame that tore the entire building apart. Yuuri Shibuya Weller's scream of his lover's name been cut off abruptly as the building crumpled in on itself.

"A messenger has been sent. We will commence the search using the local villagers and all of the soldiers." Samuel said to Gwendal, his grey eyes extremely worried and his expression grave as they studied the charred ashes and blackened wooden beams that remained fixed upright in the earth.

"I leave you in charge of the search." Gwendal's body trembled ever so slightly, all of his control beginning to crack under the emotional pressure building inside of him. Several soldiers carried Gunter's body towards them on a stretcher, the man lay there still as death, features twisted into a mask of pain. "Is he dead?"

"No." The soldier beside him said. "The arrow appears to have been coated in a poison. We believe that Lord Von Christ brought about his own comatose state in order to prevent the poison from spreading through his entire body."

"Smart idea." Lord Von Voltaire rasped, before he was moving off as they carried the man towards the waiting wagon to take him back to Covenant Castle. The man moved up beside his younger brother, his blue eyes seeking the brilliant green of his sibling, as they watched the soldiers inspecting the now wrapped up remains of the bodies that had been found amongst the ashes.

Samuel returned to Gwendal to report after several minutes. "Upon inspection of the ashes and the height, build and dress of the dead, it appears that the body of his Majesty and the Prince are not here."

"So there is a possibility that they did survive the attack?"

"Possibly, Sir, but..." The man's face was ashen as he gestured to one side and one of the soldiers brought forth a metal tray that was covered with a fine cotton cloth. "There is however this."

Wolfram stared down at the tray, horror filling his beautiful features and he rushed forwards, a hand reaching out to snatch up the cloth. It came away quickly, revealing the limb beneath. It was Conrart's arm, which was easy to identify because of the rich black fabric of the sleeve with the silver embroidering around the cuff and the silver and gold ring that decorated the ring finger. "That arm belongs to Conrart."

"Sir!" The two guards straightened, even though Samuel had guessed at it, having it confirmed left a horrible sense of foreboding in the air.

Gwendal staggered backwards slightly, anguish spreading across his face at the sight, his entire body trembling with the bubble of emotion that rocked him to the core. "...Conrart..." A tear traced its way down his cheek as he stared, unable to lift his gaze away from the severed arm of his younger brother. All he could do was pray... the man had survived... and was with his Majesty.

* * *

><p><strong>Beach, Caloria<strong>

Awareness came with a sharp jolt of agony running up along the right side of his body and the feeling of pressure being applied to the wound. A soft groan escaped his lips as his obsidian eyes slowly began to drift open, his gaze unfocused but only saw a dark blur hovering over him, blocking out the sunlight.

"Shibuya."

Recognition fluttered through him, the blur beginning to solidify into the face of Ken Murata, whose dark eyes were filled with concern as they gazed down at him. "...Ken..." His world spun when he attempted to move, his chest heaving with the effort it took just to breath.

"Hold still." The man whispered worriedly, pressing a little harder against the long slice that had been made in the Demon King's side, blood continued to seep from the wound that had cut deeply and slashed his liver. Pressing the fabric of his jacket against the long nasty gash a little more tightly, he tugged off Yuuri's ruined black jacket and used it to help bind the wound and hold the compression tightly in place.

Yuuri's body shuddered, shock attempting to set in, but he wouldn't allow it. Fighting every instinct he had, Yuuri pressed a hand tightly against his side and was beginning to push himself into a sitting position, even when his friend protested. His vision swam in and out of focus, but after a long minute he was able to make out the beach that he had apparently washed up on, taking in the pieces of charred debris and an assortment of objects that had come through the vortex with him.

Head turning, he regarded the man beside him, taking in the rumpled and damp clothes that were clinging to the man's body. He attempted to reach out with his senses and felt a jolt of surprise strike him when he realised that this was not Earth... but that left him staring at Ken Murata in surprise. How had this man ended up in this world?

"You shouldn't be moving..."

"We don't have time for staying still." Staggering upright, he was grateful when the shorter man slipped beneath one arm and supported his weight, keeping him from ending up right back on the sand in a limp heap. "Especially not in human territory." He was desperately trying to keep the images out of his mind, needing to focus on anything other than what he had seen and felt. The death of Conrart Weller and the fact that he had not been strong enough to protect his beloved when he had sworn he would. It felt like the knife had not pierced his side, but had gone right through his heart, cutting it out and leaving a gaping hole behind.

"Can you warn me next time you decide to pull me in?" Ken Murata chuckled wryly, attempting to lighten the mood. "Three hours and you already need my help again?"

Now that surprised Yuuri, his head turning to the side to regard the man beside him with widened obsidian eyes. "Three hours?"

"Yes. Three hours since you left via the plug-hole express."

"Three... hours?" It was rather unbelievable how time flowed differently between worlds. "It has been over a year since I last saw you."

Now that made Ken pause, his head shaking slightly, but he did however look closely at his friend for the first time since he had awakened on this beach after been sucked down through a puddle in an undignified manner as it had practically given out beneath him like a trapdoor. He paused when his foot bumped against the hilt of a sword sticking up out of the disturbed sand and reached down to pick it up, blinking at the inscription written along the length of the blade. Without comment, he slipped the blade into Yuuri's sheath as the man staggered along beside him, knowing that even wounded the sword might be something that saved them all later if it was in Yuuri's skilled hands.

"Shibuya." Ken Murata gazed at the man's face and immediately fell silent at the devastation that was written there for all to see. "Do you know where we are?"

"No." He breathed out softly, obsidian eyes dull as blood loss began to take its toll on the man. "But... from the plants..." From what he could see of them through the blurriness of his vision. "More than likely Cimaron..." That fact made him force himself to straighten, forcing himself to focus and push everything from his mind, everything but the fact that they needed to survive. Nothing mattered right then, he repeated that thought to himself again and again, trying to dull the agony that consumed his entire heart and soul. He needed to protect Murata.

They moved in silence for a while as they shuffled along the path worn in the sand that led up from the beach and into the thick forests that ran down right to the edge of it.

"Who are you... really?" The questioned slipped out from Yuuri's lips before he could stop it, his head hanging down as he watched his footing on the shifting sands of the track.

"You know me, I'm Ken Murata." The man responded, his gaze remaining fixed on where they were going, not venturing to look up quite yet.

There was one fact that he knew for certain about his man, just from his sense of the other man's magic that tickled his senses where they touched. "You're Demon Tribe, you know our language." Considering both of them were not conversing in Japanese but in the native tongue of Demon Tribe.

"The thing is sometimes I find myself remembering things from before I was born..." His voice sounded far away, gaze drifting for only a moment to Yuuri's face, before turning away once more. "I suppose you can call them previous lives."

"Like me." The whisper escaped him, his dark eyes closing tightly for a moment, willing to still trust this man despite the fact that he had no idea who he truly was beyond the man he had known for over half a decade.

"A long time ago, back when I lived in the Great Demon Kingdom... I was called the Great Wise Man."

"The man who stood beside the Great One against the Originators."

"Yes."

* * *

><p><strong>Portside, Gillum, Caloria<strong>

The dockside was bustling with people, most of them older men who were surprisingly buff considering their apparent age. The noise helped to drown out the painful throbbing that was pounding in his head, his breath coming in short wheezing gasps. His body sagged against the wall, his legs finally buckling out from under him and sending him down to the cool stone of the alleyway. Ken stood near the entrance to the alleyway they had taken to hiding in to help prevent anyone from realising they were both clearly members of the Demon Tribe, staring out at the passing people.

Relief had filled Yuuri the moment he had realised that he did recognise this country from the blue, white and gold flag that had decorated several of the portside buildings. _Caloria_. Adalbert had agreed to investigate the evidence that had been provided by Tomas that the fugitive former King and Queen were still in this city, where they had been forced to take refuge because their ship had been stopped by the presence of frequent Small Cimaron patrols.

"Murata." Yuuri's voice was a weak murmur, his head drooping forwards as exhaustion curled its claws around him and was attempting to drag him down into unconsciousness.

"Hey, Shibuya. Stay awake." The man turned back from where he stood by the entrance to the alleyway and returned to Yuuri's side, crouching down beside the man and his face showing his deep worry over the fact that Yuuri's skin was extremely pallid. A hand touched lightly against Yuuri's forehead, frowning at how cool it felt. "Shibuya..."

"There is a man in this city that can help us." Yuuri shrugged out of the ratty fabric he had fashioned into a cloak and offered it out to the Ken Murata, knowing that he didn't have the strength to walk. "His name is Adalbert Von Grantz... he's blonde... over six foot with blue eyes. He's staying at the White Anchor Inn that is on the west side of the city near the water..." His head dropped forwards on to his folded up knees, cold darkness tugging at his mind. "Tell him... that a friend needs to speak with him... tell him you know Gisela."

"I shouldn't leave you..."

"I'll be fine." He tried to crack a smile, forcing himself to lift his head upwards and gaze at the other man. "Go..."

"Shibuya."

"I'm not ready to die yet." The man rasped between parched lips, obsidian eyes clouding over with dark emotions, but his jaw clenched sharply. "Go, Ken..."

"I'll be back as quickly as possible." The other man responded, a hand squeezing Yuuri's shoulder before finally donning the cloak and keeping the hood close against his head before slipping out into the alleyway and into the passing clusters of people moving back and forth along the waterfront.

_Death_.

It lurked in the shadows beside him, hungry to snatch away his life as it slowly seeped out of his body drop by drop, pooling beneath him and staining the grimy alley wall red. Hot tears were sliding down his cheeks, white hot agony burning its way up from deep within his chest and settling in the place within him where Conrart had once been. He had thought... he had desperately _hoped_ that Yozak and Conrart had escaped the fire... that the vortex had been soon enough that the fireballs hadn't caught them. However, the aching emptiness he felt, the utter nothingness that existed within his heart told him otherwise.

It would kill him. Slowly but surely, the loss of Conrart had stripped away his happiness, hope and anything else that remained within his heart. However, he had a promise to Shinou to keep, he would gather the boxes and put an end to their threat to this world once and for all... then he would have his peace.

Time drifted past him, minutes blurring together and it could have been hours or even days as far as his mind could tell. He was barely aware of anything. It was the clink of spurs against stone that made him slowly lift his head from where it had flopped against his knees, obsidian eyes slowly blinking open.

"Majesty...?" The question was uncertain, the voice gruff and blessedly familiar.

"Adal." He croaked hoarsely.

"Yuuri!" The man was instantly on his knees beside his King, a hand reaching out to lightly tip his head upwards. Intense blue eyes studying the pale face of the wounded half-breed, before dropping downwards to examine the large spreading stain of blood that covered his right side. A hand lightly touched against it, feeling the wetness there, fingertips coming back slick with hot crimson smears. "Sire..."

"The... Inn." His head was flagging a little, his awareness beginning to slowly slip away. "Talk... there... not safe... not safe here..."

"_Yuuri_."

The sound of his name was not enough to keep him conscious and darkness swallowed him whole without protest.

* * *

><p><strong>The White Anchor Inn, Gillum, Caloria<strong>

"Exactly who are you?"

Adalbert Von Grantz's voice infiltrated his sleep fogged brain, drawing Yuuri slowly out of the haze that had swept over him.

"I'm a friend of Shibuya's." Ken Murata's quite tones answered from the other side of wherever Yuuri had been placed, his tone however was a touch defensive.

"Are you from the other world?"

"Yeah."

It was clear Adalbert was hitting a roadblock in his interrogation of the other double-black, one that was clearly frustrating the man to no end. Adalbert always had liked getting all the answers quickly and efficiently, while in contrast Murata had a way of being secretive and yet outspoken all at the same time.

"Don't take his evasiveness too seriously, Adalbert... he's like that with everyone, including me." Yuuri groaned softly, when he finally managed to pry his eyelids open and stared up at a wooden ceiling. Every part of him ached and throbbed dully, making him feel like he had been practically run over by one of Anissina's larger inventions. "I'm just glad he found you."

"What happened?" The legs of Adalbert's chair scraped against the wooden flooring as the man drew his seat closer so that he could gaze down into Yuuri's eyes as they turned to regard him.

"_Death_." It was barely above a whisper, the two men on either side of him straining to hear him.

A raw little noise escaped Yuuri's throat at that question, his chest jerking upwards violently while he desperately fought against the burn of tears that wanted to run down his cheeks. Fingers clenched into the bedding just beneath him, knuckles turning white, while he struggled to contain everything he felt. He could still see the fire that had taken away the life of the only man he had ever truly loved every time he closed his eyes.

Adalbert stiffened, his jaw clenching as intense blue eyes gazed down into the empty black eyes that returned his stare. "Is he...?"

"_Dead_." It was a snarl, jaw slapping shut on the word, guilt and self-hatred flaming to life within his chest. "I was not strong enough... _not __**strong**__ enough_ to save him. Those cowards lived."

"Yuuri... I..."

"Please." The King's response was a cracked whisper, his eyes shutting tightly, desperate to shut out the emotions again and bottle them up once more within him. "I don't want pity or sympathy right now. There are far more... important things to worry about than my emotions. Do you have news...?"

"Yes." Adalbert's expression darkened just a little, but his hand reached out to lightly rest against Yuuri's forearm, offering the man a silent piece of comfort despite what he had said. "I managed to track down the records regarding the Sveleran Royals... it turns out that they did manage to procure passage aboard one of the cargo ships heading to Big Cimaron and I have confirmed that they did have a Box with them." The man's jaw set slightly, his eyes sweeping over Yuuri's face and his golden brows drew together. "There have also been rumours circulating that there is a second Forbidden Box here in Caloria in the hands of the ruler of this nation, Norman Gilbit."

"I... can tell you if one is here... if I'm close enough to where it is kept." Yuuri's head dropped backwards onto the pillow, his lips pressing together and he considered what was before him.

"Sire, you need rest and to return to the Great Demon Kingdom... that wound is severe, the doctor could only stitch it up... There is a major chance of infection."

"I will not go back." Steel laced those five words, a spark of the King's natural authority rising to the surface, obsidian eyes flashing at Adalbert in warning. "It is my duty to locate the Boxes and return them to the Great Demon Kingdom. It is the _will_ of Shinou."

The warrior's expression became shuttered with those statements from his King and the reality of what would happen became clear to Adalbert. "Allow me to stand with you in this task you have been given, Sire. Allow me to serve you as I have before. Allow me to repay a little of the debt I owe you for giving me true happiness and a home, for being willing to trust me when I could not even trust myself."

Yuuri's arm shifted beneath Adalbert's comforting grasp, curling his hand around the larger one of his friend, squeezing as much as he was able around the calloused fingers. "Thank you."

"I guess I'm quite out of date, Shibuya..." Ken Murata said quietly, his glasses being lightly pushed back up onto the bridge of his nose while he regarded the two men with interest.

"How long has it been... since you've been back to this world?"

"Several lifetimes..." Murata admitted, lips pressing together.

"Can... you fill him in, Adalbert?" What strength Yuuri had had was seeping out of him again, his body sagging back onto the bed, his eyes drifting half shut. "I..." And his voice trailed off as he drifted back into that dark haze that thankfully helped to ease the agony bottled up within him.

* * *

><p><strong>Gillum, Caloria<strong>

Yuuri Shibuya Weller felt like a child as he was being carried on Adalbert Von Grantz's back. His head dropped forwards to rest against one broad shoulder as his arms looped loosely around his neck, holding on as best he could. It was quite mortifying for him to be reduced to that kind of state, but he didn't make a sound of protest, knowing it would more than likely be their best chance of getting an audience with Caloria's ruler.

"Tell me more about... this Lord."

"It's widely known amongst the members of the local community that Lord Norman refuses to see anyone, _ever_. Apparently he was in a carriage accident three years ago and though he has physically recovered from his wounds, he has kept to himself within the mansion." Adalbert's expression however was deeply troubled by those facts and how they didn't quite match what he had heard. "I have also heard that Lord Norman has been making several questionable deals with people from Big Cimaron in order to gain leverage over Small Cimaron and force that country to back off both politically and physically."

"Small Cimaron has embargoed a number of countries besides Caloria... however I do not see why they would do that to countries that are apparently directly under their control, even though they might be _considered_ autonomous." Yuuri sighed, wishing he had more answers for the ill-fitting puzzle pieces they had been given to assemble their answers from. "Do you think... they are searching for the second Box? Small Cimaron could be applying pressure to the various nations in an effort to force the Box to the surface as a bargaining chip... as much as I hate that idea..."

"It sounds quite plausible." Murata agreed softly from beside them, the man's dark hair hidden beneath a leather cap like Yuuri was wearing, dye not really being an option while they were travelling because it could be so easily washed out or fade too quickly to offer them any protection. "An efficient means of flushing out their prey... or forcing people to start talking..."

One of Yuuri's hands reached out to lightly touch Ken Murata's shoulder softly, before he was settling his face back against Adalbert's shoulder, dark eyes closing as they finally approached the gates of to the white mansion that stood overlooking the city of Gillum and its harbour.

Overhead the sky was painted a blood red and gold as the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon, casting crimson spectres up across the walls of the mansion that had been coloured a deep violet by hungry shadows. Torches illuminated the main gateway where several guards had shifted position at the approach of the three men. Dragons coiled themselves up along the edges of the wrought iron fence and gateway and its supporting posts, their eyes staring at them blindly as they halted on the other side of it.

Two beret-wearing guards opened the heavy gates that squeaked a little on their hinges, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, ready to cut down the intruders at a moment's notice. They studied the three newcomers with suspicion until one stopped suddenly, the second freezing as well as they stared at the blue pendant that had pulled free of Adalbert's shirt. Within its swirling blue facets, a dragon-like form lay curled up in a very stylised design done in white and gold.

"S... Sir!" One guard practically stammered out. The man lifted his hand to press across his chest, head bowing in deep respect. "Forgive our rudeness, Sir. We did not notice that you bore the crest of the Wincott family. Please forgive our disrespect."

"We wish to see Lord Norman Gilbit." Adalbert rumbled, his blue eyes troubled by the mention of Julia's family, but he swallowed a little around the lump that formed in his throat. "My companion also needs a doctor."

"This way, Sir." One Guard was stepping aside and gesturing them through the gateway and into the quiet drive that run up to the mansion.

They were being quickly guided through the main doors and into the simply decorated, white plastered hallways, they blurred into one another before Yuuri's vision. The man no longer quite able to remember how far he was carried through the massive building. It was only when he felt himself being shifted that he truly became aware that they were no longer moving.

Releasing his grip on Adalbert's shoulders, he found himself in a high backed chair at one end of a long white cloth-covered table. A large hand lightly touched his cheek and tipped his head upwards in order to see his unfocused eyes. He blinked once, forcing himself to straighten in the chair, a hand pressing against his right side as it throbbed in protest at the movement. "I'm so sorry." He breathed out, feeling a little like a fool over the fact that he had been carried from the Inn to the mansion. "I..."

"Don't apologise." Adalbert responded, as he knelt and held the man's obsidian eyes captive for one long moment. "You have nothing to apologise for. You're injured and I was glad to be of assistance."

The same massive wooden doors that they had come through minutes before opened with a rattle, framing an old gentleman wearing butler's attire. "The Lord of the Autonomy of Caloria under Small Cimaron, Lord Norman Gilbit, has arrived."

The butler stepped aside with a bow as a masked figure entered in behind him, long dark robes swirling around a surprisingly slender body. The white and red mask fitted firmly over the man's face, even his eyes were not visible within the shadowed eye-sockets in the white creation. Nothing of the human aspects of Norman Gilbit were visible at all to any of the three Demon Tribesmen, it was as if there was an invisible wall around Caloria's Lord protecting him from the world or hiding him from... something else.

Yuuri's dark eyes narrowed while he shifted forwards on his chair slightly, back ramrod straight against the back of his chair. His jaw clenched slightly when his gaze pinned this human in place, knowing that this person was definitely not whom it appeared to be.

* * *

><p><strong>Big Cimaron<strong>

Conrart Weller heaved up everything that was inside of his stomach with a sickening lurch, his fingers curled tightly into fists against the cold stone flooring, resting on his hands and knees and feeling another wave of nausea strike him extremely hard. Gasping for air, he was unable to prevent himself from dry heaving, his breathing was ragged and his face was sweat slicked. Every single inch of his body screamed in silent agony, not only from the violent attacks of vomiting that frequently struck him since the beginning of his incarceration, but also from the emptiness that filled his soul at the memories that were burned into his brain.

His head lifted slowly, eyes taking in his surroundings and the thousands of esoteric stones that lined every single wall, glittering with their own internal energy. It seemed that they finally did have an answer to the question he had once asked Yuuri and it _stunned_ him. He had _**magic**_. All his life some small part of him had desired it, wanting to be like his brothers and all those around him, needing to belong just for a little while like he did when he was in Yuuri's arms.

Trapped within the confines of these thick walls with no means of telling the time or measuring its passage, Conrart didn't know if he had been in that cell for days or only a matter of hours. The inside of the cell looked like a warzone, the bedding torn and the pallet shattered into a thousand splinters of wood on the floor by the door. All of his calm control had shattered after he had awoken alone in this place, his beloved's scream of his name still echoing in his ears, driving him mad as did the sudden severance between himself and his new magical abilities.

A cold rage burned within him, one that wouldn't be quieted or stilled. If he had had the strength, he would have been pacing along the length of the bars, in spite of the shackles clamped around his ankles and anchored into the back wall. He was a caged lion, one that didn't take kindly to such treatment.

He had been imprisoned before many times, but this... this was _different_.

There was a clink of the key in the heavy lock on the outside, and the grind of metal against metal as unoiled hinges sounded their protest. Conrart jerked upright, getting to his feet, the chains snapping taut when he moved sharply towards the door, jolting him in his tracks. His eyes narrowed on the sight of the uniformed guard, recognition striking him hard and finally answering the question of where he was. However, it was the man whom was shoved into his cell that made his eyes widen and a small hint of relief flare inside of him.

Yozak stepped into the cell as the door slammed shut with a harsh clang as the guard once more locked the door and headed back down the corridor without a word to either of them. Azure blue eyes settled on Conrart's face, blinking sharply as he saw something he wasn't expecting and he was moving forwards quickly reaching out a hand towards his long time friend and only ending up meeting empty air as Conrart retreated from the touch.

"What did they do to you?" Yozak rasped, taking in the pallid features of his long time friend and the intense silver eyes that regarded him from under the wild sweat slicked locks framing the man's face. "Conrart..." His hand stretched out again, but hesitated when silver eyes fixed on his face.

"_Nothing_."He hissed out, almost snarling the word as he retreated for the far wall and allowed himself to slide down it, resting with his back pressed against it as his arms circled his knees. "They've done nothing to me." Brows drawing together while he studied Yozak's uninjured face and unshackled state, unable to shake the odd wariness that struck him. "And you? What happened to you, Yozak? All I remember is waking up in this place..."

"I was taken in for questioning." The half-breed responded, sitting down before his friend and regarding him worriedly. "Your eyes... Conrart... you look..."

"Sick?" A harsh laugh escaped him, bitter amusement tinging his words. "_Yes_. Surprising, isn't it? After a lifetime of being without magic, I finally find out I do possess it."

Yozak hadn't seen this side of Conrart Weller in a very long time, the cynical attitude and the burning anger behind that silver gaze. Not since the days before the war, the days before Julia had entered Conrart's life had he been like this. "Conrart..."

"He's _dead_, Yozak." The man's voice was heart-breaking, the silvery gaze shimmering with unshed tears and a pain that would never leave them. "I can still hear him screaming for me." Until those screams had been cut off abruptly as the building collapsed down right on top of Yuuri Shibuya Weller. He had hoped... desperately hoped to feel something... _anything_. Yet, only silence answered him. "I swear I will hunt down those responsible for this and cut out their hearts for that they have done."

Conrart gazed down at his arm, his fingers clenching on it, the limb functioning as a left arm should. He had felt it being severed from his body, he could still feel where the blade had sliced through flesh and bone... His fingertips lightly touched against the scar that wrapped around his upper arm near his shoulder, where this arm met his own flesh. By all rights he should be dead from the arrows that had pierced his body, yet here he was... alive and still breathing. However, he had no answers as to how that had come to pass.

"I should be dead, Yozak." His lips pressed together sharply for a moment. "Do you know why I am not?"

Blue eyes flickered away at that, the man's lips pressing together into a firm line, fingers curling slightly against his knees.

"Yozak. _Why_?"

"You don't need to know."

It was clear something extremely important had happened between when they had entered that vortex and had been carried away from that collapsing building until when he awakened in this Big Cimaron dungeon alone. Yozak knew. He could see it in every tense line of the other man's body.

"All you need to know is that I'll make sure that you're kept safe."

"**That is not good enough!**" Conrart hissed out, getting to his feet as Yozak did, the other man backing up several steps to avoid Conrart's grasping hand as the man came to the end of the length of chain that bound him.

"It will have to be." And Yozak turned away, rattling the door loudly. "Guard! I'm ready to talk!"

* * *

><p><strong>TADA! What do you think? <strong>


	28. Part 28: Ashes And Embers

**Author's Note: Insanely fast posting! XD I had the time and a bit of the energy needed to get out the next chapter quickly. I think things in this chapter will make it clear who the betrayer is and a little of the motivations behind his actions. There are a few little mysteries I've also added. I would suggest keeping an eye on Shinou. He's definitely not what you are expecting. **

**Disclaimer: Owning nothing. **

**Dedicated to all those who are new to reading my story! 3 Welcome to the craziness. **

* * *

><p><strong>Gilbit Mansion, Above Gillum, Caloria<strong>

It was like having an elephant in the room.

The masked Lord sat still and silent at the head of the long formal dining table, the butler standing to one side of him, stiff and with a hint of worry in his brown eyes as he studied the three men before him.

A maid set a teacup down before all three of them, moving as silently as the servants originally had in Covenant Castle before they had learned how much Yuuri enjoyed their friendly chatter and greetings. She also set one before the cloaked man, though it was clear that the Lord would not be able to drink the steaming tea through the mask.

"I must first explain to you that my Master has lived with this appearance since early childhood. To worsen the situation, he lost his voice in an unfortunate accident three years ago, so I will speak on his behalf." The man bowed his head slightly in respect to their guests, brown eyes showing a reserve and suspicion as he took in the appearance of the three men. "The Doctor has been summoned as you requested."

"I see." Ken Murata remarked softly, looking almost thoughtful as he sipped on the tea that they had been offered.

"Excuse me, forgive my impudence in asking this, but what is your connection to the Wincott family?" The butler's gaze resting on the blue pendant still visible where it rested over Adalbert's heart.

"My family are descendants of the Wincott line." Yuuri answered softly, knowing that it was in fact quite true. All members of the Demon Tribe born on Earth were descendants from Cristal Wincott. "My name is Julius Weller." It was the name he had used before when they were outside of the castle and he needed to take on a more human name. "My father was of the Wincott bloodline, however I took my husband's name..." His voice choked on the words, his fingers curling tightly against the table cloth before him, but he forced it away, his gaze lifting again to the two humans.

"Please tell us, what was the gentleman's name?"

"Odell." It seemed only fitting considering that Julia's soul rested within him. "These are my companions, Adalbert and Ken. Adalbert was once engaged to my... sister Julia." His hand gestured towards Adalbert. "We were attacked on our way to Gillum," Palm pressing against the thick bandages that wrapped around his torso beneath his shirt, he swallowed hard. "My husband was killed in the attack... and I was wounded."

The Lord visibly jerked at those words, the white masked face turning more towards Yuuri, gazing at him for the first time fully and the Demon King could see a flicker of teal within the dark eye-sockets.

"I see."The butler murmured with regret and sympathy. "What I will tell you however about the Wincott family takes place thousands of years ago and it is why you were allowed to see my Master. This land use to be under the control of the very Wincott family that you are descended from."

"The Demon Tribe."

"Correct." The man nodded. "They were a great clan who defeated the evil Originators that threatened to engulf the entire world in its dark and sinister abyss. However, one day they began tyrannising the populace that eventually lead to a rule of terror over the land. The common folk took a stand against the unrelenting tyranny and fought against it. This resulted in the founding of the country of Caloria. As you already know, that clan thereafter became known as the evil Demon Tribe."

"People really believe that version of history?" Murata murmured from beside the King, his jaw set and dark eyes shadowed by so many silent emotions.

Yuuri wanted to snap out a response to that, feeling anger spread upwards from deep within his gut. However, before he got the chance to say anything, there were loud voices on the other side of the main doors that had both Adalbert and Murata rising to their feet and shifting protectively closer to the wounded King.

"Please stop!" The shout came clearly through the hard wood.

Abruptly the doors burst open, and a man stood there in a distinctive dark blue and light blue Small Cimaron uniform, his bearded face sporting a contemptuous sneer and a long greasy pony tail that ran the length of his back.

"Excuse me." He rumbled, followed in by a large brute of a man armed with a long sword and several rather irate guards hovering just behind them.

"Please forgive me." The beret guard spoke up from behind the two intruders, features stark. "I attempted to stop them."

"Enough, leave us." The butler commanded the guard, knowing that the last thing they wanted was for the soldiers to overhear the conversation to come.

The doors shut with a heavy thud behind the two uniformed men, the giant bear of a man stood just before it, clearly there to prevent anyone from deciding to escape.

"Well, well. It has been a long time, Lord Norman Gilbit."

"Please, Lord Maxine." Baker gestured slightly towards the three guests that were already present. "Can you not see that the Master is already entertaining guests. If you have something to discuss..."

"We of Small Cimaron have happened to hear a rather disturbing rumour." Maxine strode forwards arrogantly, his long ponytail swinging behind him like a oily pendulum, footsteps sounding loud and harsh in the vast chamber. "That despite Caloria being a subject country under Small Cimaron's rule, _you_ are bringing transactions directly to the royal chambers in Big Cimaron against our _wishes_." It was an attempt clearly by Caloria to get around the strict embargo that had been placed heavily upon them by the forces of Small Cimaron.

"We have done nothing of the sort..."

"Your butler should learn to hold his tongue!" Maxine immediately cut across the elderly man's comment sharply, his beady brown eyes narrowing on Baker for a long moment before turning to peer down at the seated Lord with interest. "I think I would prefer to hear it directly from your lips, Lord Norman Gilbit."

Yuuri's eyes narrowed on Maxine, his scarred hands clenching beneath the table to prevent himself from reaching for his sword.

The human's face dipped in uncomfortably close to Norman's, his eyes narrowing on the white and red mask, trying to imagine what lay beneath. "I cannot grasp his true intent with his eyes concealed."

Norman's head visibly tipped away from the man's, eyes averting themselves so that the hint of teal green Yuuri had glimpsed earlier couldn't be seen.

Maxine's hand snapped forwards, gripping the edge of the mask as Baker protested vehemently. The cord that bound it in place snapped audibly as it was torn away to reveal something that no one had quite been expecting.

A young woman sat there, long azure blue curls framing a beautiful face that was downturned for only a moment longer before her chin jerked upwards and she met his gaze defiantly. Her cheeks flushed a little with her embarrassment, the colour rising high across her delicate cheekbones.

"Lady Flynn, are you alright?" Baker asked as he leaned over her, attempting to manoeuvre Maxine bodily out of the way.

"I was not expecting that..." Adalbert rumbled softly, peering at the woman but nodding slightly. "...But I do recognise her, Flynn Aibrean Gilbit, wife of Norman Gilbit."

"Beautiful." Ken Murata whispered softly, though his gaze flickered back towards Maxine.

Maxine set the crimson and white mask down onto the edge of the table beneath one palm, his jaw working as he studied the woman before him with interest. "I thought so." He rumbled with smug pleasure at having cornered her so neatly. "I came to this place under the orders of King Saralegi of Small Cimaron expressly for the purpose of interrogating Gilbit. However, I have found nothing but a woman of little importance."

"How rude!" Baker snapped, looking like a protective wolf protecting its cubs from a bobcat. "How dare you say that to my Lady in such a way."

"My Lady, you say?" The Small Cimaron officer examined her face for a long moment, his lips turning upwards into a thoughtful little smirk.

Green eyes blazed in angry response at Maxine's dismissal of her and her position in Caloria. "I am Lady Flynn Gilbit. My husband Norman lost his life in a terrible carriage accident three years ago if you must know. As fate would have it, I had not conceived a child with Norman before that. However, according to Cimaron Law adoption is void after the death of the husband and women are not even allowed to inherit the family name."

"To protect the Gilbit family and its territories, she donned the mask and lived in seclusion these past few years, determined to live as Norman Gilbit as long as she could." The man's face buried itself in one hand, his sorrow and grief over what had befallen the once happy couple echoing again in his thoughts. "How it breaks my heart."

Yuuri's heart went out to her, his expression softening with understanding as to why they had been tricked as they had. Flynn was only attempting to protect her people as best she was able with the limited means at her disposal.

" Then what of the argument against Small Cimaron opening hostilities and the independent anti-war movement we've been hearing about?"

"That is no more than a rumour! It's untrue!"

"And the Wincott poison allowed only to be kept in this mansion." His eyes thinned to slits, staring down into her face for so long that she turned her head away in response to his intense scrutiny. "I hear the poison has been passed into someone else's hands. Whenever there was a mention of the poison, the focus of those rumours was always this mansion. The question being... will you sell it to someone? Have you sold it?"

"If I am presented with a reasonable monetary offer, I will sell it to anyone." Her green orbs sparked, her jaw setting defiantly again as she firmly met Maxine's gaze. "And by anyone, my Lord Maxine, I even mean you."

For all of Yuuri's understanding and sympathy he had for this woman and the battle she had to both protect and maintain her territories, he could not agree with the lengths that she would go to, to gain more financial aid for her cause. Poison was _never_ something to be sold or bought like one would fabrics or food supplies. A weapon in the wrong hands could spell disaster on a scale that she could not comprehend. Just like the Boxes... a specialised poison could be just as deadly and devastating.

"Very well then since you are being so honest, why don't you tell me whom you have given it to."

She stood at that, boldness in every movement and expression, even though it was clear the woman had been backed into a corner. "I cannot tell you that."

"Surely you don't think that answer will stop my _investigation_ into you and your activities."

There was a sudden hiss of air as a fine line of wire abruptly whipped out from one of Maxine's sleeves and coiled itself like a garrotte around Flynn's neck and pulled tight enough to draw a thin line of blood around her throat. Her hands clawed at the tablecloth, while she was being reeled in like a fish on a hook. The teacup shattered as it was yanked off the table and spilled tea across the golden tiled floor, her chair tipped over with a crash as she was pulled into Maxine's grasp. Fingers clawing at her throat, her breath was choked off within seconds of his hands fisting around either side of the tiny wire.

"You didn't think I would be satisfied with your non-compliance, did you?"

Yuuri's chair skittered backwards when he rose abruptly from his chair, his hand immediately going for his sword. Even as his muscles screamed and the stitches pulled sharply all up along his right side, he refused to stand back and watch her being treated like that. "Adalbert!" His hand gestured towards the giant whom was already charging towards them sword drawn from its sheath. The warrior was already meeting the challenger with the skill of a man who had spent over a hundred years wielding a blade in battle.

His own blade cleared its scabbard and his blade flashed out slicing cleanly through the wires coiled around Flynn's neck. His booted foot landed a hard blow against the back of the man's knee joint, unbalancing him enough to force him away from the lady. Yuuri Shibuya Weller's sword was lifting to press against Maxine's throat, his obsidian eyes blazing with sparks of pure fire, the dragon awakening with a deafening roar within Yuuri's soul.

"_Never_ touch a lady in anger." The words were snarled, his expression darkening by the moment, a low angry hiss escaped his lips. "I should cut you down for such cruelty."

There was a sound of boots pounding along the hallway outside, ones that made Maxine's head jerk up from where he stared down at the blade that rested just beneath his chin.

"Master Maxine!" The giant staggered backwards clutching one arm as blood seeped freely through his fingers from where Adalbert's broad sword had found its mark. "It's Big Cimaron' s Army!"

The two men were already turning tail like the cowards they were, bursting through a set of French doors that lead from the dining hall out onto the long single balcony that swept the length of the room. They bolted over the railing and plunged downwards, heedless of anything and anyone that got in their way.

Abruptly the doors flew open as guards suddenly filled the large entrance way, their dark brown and grey uniforms distinctive, but it was what they held in their hands that made Yuuri's blood run cold. Small portable cannons rested in their grips tucked against their bodies and ready to open fire on a moment's notice.

"We came immediately!" The lead guard called, their eyes fixed on the swords that both Yuuri and Adalbert wielded and at Ken Murata who knelt beside Flynn. "Are they the bandits?"

"_No_." It was an agonised sound from deep within Yuuri's soul as he stared at them, unable to glance away from the soldiers. Fingers curled tightly on the hilt of Conrart's sword, fingers feeling the impression of his husband's own grip worn into the leather and fabric that circled the hilt.

Baker shook his head slowly as he reached out to carefully help Flynn to her feet. "No, these gentlemen are guests of ours. The bandits escaped through the window."

The half dozen men were slowly entering the room in formation, the muzzles of their weapons remaining trained on Yuuri and Adalbert as the larger blonde man was already moving forwards in order to protect his King from the humans. Blue eyes narrowed on them, having a feeling that Big Cimaron was responsible for a lot more than he knew... maybe Yuuri would be able to speak about the attack given time... but for now he had to keep the man calm and alive.

"You, whoever you are, stay put and drop those swords."

"MURDERERS!" It was a roar of sound from the depths of his soul, Yuuri's entire body catching a light from within, the dragon unfurling itself from that quiet corner of his soul to consume him. The bellow of rage escaped his lips as he stepped around Adalbert, both hands out and magic surged bright and hot into him, responding to him as easily as ever as if he had hadn't been drained a day before. Whatever had been leeching off his power clearly hadn't reached as far as Caloria to claw more of it from his grasp.

The weapons melted in the men's hands, their shouts of pain ringing in the air. Wind whipped around him, spiralling outwards with the force of a hurricane, throwing the soldiers like they were nothing more than rag dolls. They were knocked unconscious by the power of his assault.

Arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind, drawing Yuuri closer to a large male body, jerking him both physically and mentally back to reality from the dark place he had ventured. Adalbert Von Grantz embraced Yuuri as he had seen Conrart do many times before, while the young man howled out his rage and grief. The flames that licked across the floor and walls already beginning to die as quickly as they had sprung up, though unburnt patches circled around where Murata, Flynn and Baker huddled together.

"You have defeated them, Sire." He whispered gently, just holding the man still as the King's body was slowly giving out around him as his anger turned into harsh body wracking sobs that shook him to the bone. Tears spilled down over Yuuri's cheeks as he let out loud sobs that tore into the hearts of all those around him, his grief as deep as his joy had once been. "Easy now..."

All the warrior could do was hold on and sink to the scorched tiles, drawing the smaller man into his lap and just hold him, until it became too much for the younger man's already weakened body and he sank into unconsciousness, salty droplets still clung to his raven lashes.

* * *

><p><strong>The Royal Palace, Lambeil, Big Cimaron<strong>

_"What would you give to protect him?" _

The words burned Gurrier Yozak soul deep, his fingers clenching into fists as he stared out over the snow shrouded city of Lambeil, the Capital of Big Cimaron. Shinou's words... Shinou's _offer_. All of it resounded again and again within his head almost deafening in its loudness.

He could still remember the rage in Conrart's eyes, the fire that blazed white hot whenever the man lifted molten silver eyes to stare at him from within the prison that had been designed to hold Demon Tribesmen. It should have had no affect on the man, that was the entire plan... but instead Conrart Weller had been violently ill in response to the presence of so many esoteric stones.

What had happened to their friendship? What had happened to the partnership that had been forged over decades with blood, sweat and tears? Where had the trust gone from their relationship? The answer made his stomach twist and his heart to clench within his chest. A single year with the _King_ had taken all of that away and now with his death, Yuuri Shibuya had done something no one else ever had, not even Julia. He had killed the very heart of Conrart Weller.

"This was not what I wanted." Yozak breathed out, his breath fogging as it escaped from between his lips. "This is _never_ what I wanted." Fingers clenched together and his head bowed as the weight of his decision came to rest upon his shoulders.

_"Are you willing to give up everything to build the world that Yuuri wished for?" _

Shinou had questioned Conrart first, in that dark place between worlds, where time meant little to them. The Great One had made an offer to the Prince Consort, one that the man had refused.

_"WHY!"_ It had been a snarled response, the half-breed unafraid of anything that might befall him, his defiance blazing in every feature of his blood and soot streaked face. _"__Why should I trust the words of the being that allowed my beloved to die? Why... when he was created by the death of another I cared for...?"_

It had angered Shinou, the refusal echoing loudly through the void. However, the man remained silent and still for the longest of times, before a hand waved in Conrart's direction and the man was knocked into unconsciousness. The action returned Conrart to the darkness where he lay broken and bloody. However, despite Conrart's refusal, Shinou had _fixed_ the man. It had been one of the strangest of sights, watching Shinou give the man a new arm, repair the damage the arrows had done to his body.

It was only then that he had turned towards Yozak and questioned him. _"What would you give to protect him? What would you give to keep him safe?" _

"_Anything_."

It became apparent that Conrart remembered nothing of what had occurred and it was probably better that way. Yozak was already struggling with his own decisions, it killed him a little each moment he spent now dressed in the uniform of a Big Cimaron soldier. The information he had given in order to gain enough trust to keep himself alive and from Conrart being publically executed for being Demon Tribe. As of yet, they had not worked out who the man was... but that might just change...

Turning away from the view of Lambeil, he stepped back into his chilly room within the massive palace, feeling more alone in that moment than he ever had before. He was caught between the commands of the Great One and his loyalty to Conrart... and he still couldn't see the way out.

* * *

><p><strong>The Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom <strong>

"Please wait, your Excellency!" One of the young temple maidens pleaded with the irate young man. "No matter how high your nobility you cannot come into the Hall of the Great One without the invitation of the Great One or his shrine maidens!"

"But this is urgent!" Wolfram growled out, his blonde locks framing his slightly flushed face that was a little wind burned from the long ride back from where he had been searching the ruins for any sign of Yozak, Conrart or Yuuri. He pushed his way through, stalking into the dark courtyard that ringed the central fountain, no other maidens dared to stop him as he continued further into the Tomb. He was determined to get his answers, especially about the fate of his brother and their King.

"Wait, Lord Wolfram!"

A feminine voice stopped him in his tracks and Wolfram turned to find Gisela hurrying towards him.

"Gisela." Wolfram was actually surprised by the sight of the healer hurrying to stop before him, her green eyes troubled as they observed him. "You must be off-duty dressed like that..."

"Yes." She responded softly, her expression troubled, her lips pressing together a little as she took in Wolfram's dishevelled appearance. "I need to offer thanks to the Great One for saving my father's life and also pray for his Highness, the Prince and Yozak..."

That news startled Wolfram, his head lifting a little. "Gunter has been saved from the poison?" It was the first piece of good news that they had had in a while.

"He has." Though the sight of her father as a small rather adorable doll had made her almost want to laugh with relief and shock. It had definitely not been what she had expected for Anissina to come up with, but sometimes the woman's unique type of ingenuity was just what they needed to solve a crisis like that. "Although... he looks very different now."

"Knowing Gunter as I do, he could easily shed his new skin."

"Shed skin?" Gisela didn't quite understand the reference.

Both of them descended the last flight of stairs that emptied out into the space before the doors to the main chamber what most considered to be the resting place of the Great One's soul.

"I told you the High Priestess will not take visitors." The same maiden from before hovered just before the doors, clearly anxious over the fact that a man had indeed infiltrated the Tomb of the Great One.

"This is urgent!" Wolfram snapped out in response, his cheeks burning high with colour and a tough of indignation. He moved past them, his hand lifting up to slam against the heavy wood and metal, anger bubbling up from inside of him. "Open up this door!"

"Stop that...!"

"Please, Lord Wolfram!"

"So I can't see her without a contribution? In that case, I'll pay as much as you want after! Name your price and its yours!" He needed answers, anything to reassure himself that his brother might still be alive somewhere... or Yuuri. Both men were extremely important to him and the thought that either was dead cut him right to the bone. Any hope was better than none at all.

"You're being irrational." Gisela whispered, but couldn't help but admit to herself that she wanted answers as well.

"This is shameful of you, Ulrike! Just because you failed to transport Yuuri to safety doesn't mean you can lock yourself in your room and turn everyone away."

Suddenly the door flew open, catching Wolfram squarely in the chest and face knocking him back several steps with a grunt before he felt Gisela's hands grasp his shoulders to steady him.

"Do not say such things!"

* * *

><p>"When we felt the vortex open... we attempted to guide his Majesty to the other world where he might be safe. However, another force with conflicting magic disturbed our efforts and we... lost both vortices..."<p>

Wolfram's head came up at that, his green eyes narrowing. "_Two_?" The blonde noble knew that Yuuri was quite capable of producing his own vortexes when his life was threatened, was it possible that Yuuri had managed to save Conrart and Yozak as well?

"Yes... his Majesty's was the second... the first... disappeared before we could guide them... It disintegrated before we could truly grasp it. Those within... I fear could not be saved." Ulrike's slender shoulders drooped, her eyes closing in helplessness over her inability to do her duties to her King and those that might depend on her skills. "Someone else... was interfering with the vortices. I lost sight of his Majesty... but... he can carry himself through the barrier on his own... and he did so... however I think someone from the other world joined him in the return crossing between worlds." Tears were beginning to run down Ulrike's cheeks, her face a mask of guilt.

"Priestess Ulrike, can you tell me... is he truly still in this world?" Gisela swallowed. "Are you certain he did force himself to return here?"

"Through the powers of the Great One, we are always aware of the whereabouts of the successive Demon Kings."

Behind Wolfram and Gisela rose a bright translucent sphere that rested on a stone pedestal. The shimmering surface rippled and an image began to form within the surface of the sphere, an image of the heavens, stars glittering in the vastness of the image. One however was especially bright off to one side.

"The Demon King possesses a tremendous amount of magic powers. Those powers express themselves as light."

"What is that star?" Wolfram whispered, staring at the most brilliant amongst the ever changing constellations. "That brilliant one... is it?"

"That is the star of your mother, Lady Cecilie Von Spitzweg."

"I'm persuaded." He sighed.

"From what I can see, she appears to be in human territory."

"You mean... you can even tell where she is?"

"Yes, but only because there is no interference... though I might be incorrect."

There as a sudden brilliant burst of light to one side of the steady pulse of Cecilie's star, as one five times the size of his mother's flared like a nova and burned fiercely with a steady light. Its radiance was so intense that it seemed to fill the entire sphere up to the breaking point. Though before long, it began to ebb away and slowly fade back into the darkness, pulsing quietly as a tiny star in the background, barely distinguishable from the others, except for the fiery red shimmer that coiled around it protectively.

Wolfram was on his feet and wide green eyes watched the sphere with curiosity and shock. "What was that...?"

"That was his Majesty." Ulrike whispered with relief, her expression softening as her gazed fixed on that tiny star that could flare in a moment's notice into brilliant life. "It appears as if his Majesty is indeed still here. That flare... was his Majesty using his magic. Unlike Lady Cecilie, King Yuuri shields most of his presence from those around him until he requires the use of his considerable magical powers. He eludes even my eyes at times."

"What is that red ring around his star?" Gisela asked quietly.

"His Majesty harbours the soul of a Komorrian Dragon and its presence cannot be disguised even by his skills."

"He's alive." Wolfram sighed in relief, sagging back to the floor, relief filling him to know that he hadn't lost both Conrart and Yuuri, however the confirmation from Ulrike about the deaths of his brother and Gurrier Yozak struck him deeply. He felt tears burning at the corners of his eyes, though he forced himself to blink it away, wanting to rub furiously at them. "He's there beside Mother..."

"I spoke to Lord Raven and Lady Cecilie at the wedding..." The woman remarked softly, her arms hugging around her and worry filled her face. "His Majesty had arranged for a new Lord, Lady Cecilie's cousin Thorrin Von Spitzweg to take over the care of Spitzweg Lands and relieve them of their duties. They were planning on visiting... Cimaron."

* * *

><p><strong>Gilbit Mansion, Above Gillum, Caloria<strong>

As the protective barriers disintegrated around the three people, the damage became rather apparent where every inch of the white walls had been scorched black and the glass had actually melted in their small frames.

"What happened...?" Baker rasped out as fine wisps slowly began to drift away from the still smoking floor tiles that surrounded them, it was as if a firestorm had struck the room.

"Why aren't we burnt like everything else?" Flynn questioned Adalbert, gazing down at herself and not seeing even a hint of singed fabric even around the edges of her long robes.

"Because he protected you." The warrior rumbled, carefully sliding one arm beneath Yuuri's knees and beginning to lift him upwards.

The King's head dropped limply against Adalbert's shoulder, the sword clattering out of Yuuri's grasp and onto the floor. Adalbert reached down to pick up the weapon and hesitated as he gazed at the familiar pommel and elegantly designed blade that rested in his palm, Conrart's sword, the very one Yuuri had had commissioned for him. Slipping the weapon into Yuuri's scabbard, he shifted the man a little more in his arms protectively.

"It looked like he used all of his energy on magic." The woman remarked.

Adalbert laughed softly and shook his head. "_This_ is nothing." He had seen Yuuri in battle, he could level entire armies if he was so inclined, and thankfully such moments were indeed rare. "You could kill him right now..." The man rumbled as he turned to face the woman who had gotten them into another rather unmanageable situation.

"I won't kill him." She whispered, gazing into the pale face of a man who had risked his life to save her from Maxine, a man who wouldn't have hesitated to kill her if she had resisted much longer. Green eyes studied his unusual features, Flynn feeling a spark of something deep within her chest at the sight of Julius Weller. "I need him alive to help get me out of this complicated mess."

"I will not allow you to use him for any such purpose." Or any purpose for that matter. Yuuri had not answered the question as to whether there was a Box present in the mansion and they needed enough time for the King to awaken to discover if it was so. "Lord Weller is a man who has his _morals_, the fact that he cared enough to protect you... a woman who would sell poisons to anyone."

"I won't use him for anything of the sort." She couldn't find words to protest what he was saying, to convince him of what she needed to happen if she planned on saving Caloria from the forces of Small Cimaron. "I... it was necessary... we needed the money."

"Tell that to the families of those who are killed by the poison _you_ gave them."

"Enough." Ken Murata whispered, his hand lightly resting against Adalbert's arm lightly, glancing down to look into Yuuri's pallid features. "Now is not the time to argue... we need to get out of here before more soldiers decide to come investigate the fire."

"But..."

"Do you want to be able to argue your case to him?" Dark brows lifted in question as he regarded the woman for a moment.

"Yes..." Hesitating for only a moment longer, she was hurrying forwards towards a door half hidden by several half charred tapestries. "This way... hurry."

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Wolfram's head lifted from where it had dropped into his hands, his shoulders slumped, his brows drew together as he regarded Gisela, Dorcascaus and Keenan as they drew along horses that were packed with all they would need for a long journey. Green eyes focusing on Gisela, his lips parted in surprise as she drew her horse to a stop at the bottom of the steps he was sitting on.

"Thankyou for what you did at the Tomb, Excellency." Gisela murmured softly.

"If you want to see Gunter, he's with Gwendal at present." Wolfram's jaw gritted at that, still remembering the argument that he had had with his eldest brother over the fact that the man wouldn't let him set out in order to track down Yuuri in Cimaron territories. Even though he understood his brother's desire to protect him and keep him close, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing while Yuuri was out there alone... and without family.

"I know." She said with a small smile tugging at her lips. "He looks fine, no matter what his appearance is right now. Actually we are using this opportunity to take a vacation. Right?" Turning slightly towards Dorcascaus, she offered the soldier a charming little grin.

"Yes."

"Since my Father is always so demanding of his subordinates I thought I would take them on a holiday. I planned out a trip to the hot springs."

"Hot Springs?" He questioned. "Travelling so lightly?"

"That is because your Excellency is accustomed to journeying with nobility and they always bring their entourage."

"Where do you intend to go?" It seemed so odd to him that she would pick now of all times to go on such a journey, but there was an inkling in the back of his mind, one that told him that there was far more to this than merely worry for the troops.

"We'll travel to Schildkaut and then we will go towards Vandavia. Afterwards if we decide we are up for it, we may go even further than that." Which would send them right into Cimaron territory. "If we don't get back here soon, please take care of my Father for me."

Wolfram was on his feet and down the bottom of the stairs before Gisela finished her last statement, his green eyes staring into hers and pinning her to the spot. "Are you going after my Brother?"

"Yes." She responded fiercely, her pale green eyes meeting his firmly.

"Let me come with you, Gisela. _Please_..."

"We leave in twenty minutes."

And Wolfram was off like a shot through the castle, not stopping for a moment even when he bumped into several people along his way. There was nothing in the world that would keep him sitting on his rear for a moment longer when he could be out there searching for Yuuri. Even though Gwendal was sending out search parties the next morning, he needed to do something... anything to try to make sure his brother-in-law made it back home again.

* * *

><p><strong>The Royal Palace, Lambeil, Big Cimaron<strong>

Conrart bolted into consciousness with a start, Yuuri's name on his lips as his head jerked up from where it had fallen against one drawn up knee. His gaze swept the darkness of his cell, one hand reaching up to brush the long dirt streaked locks of hair out of his face. Eyes burning, his fingers lifted to lightly touch against his cheeks and they came away damp with his own tears, his heart spilling over with that unstoppable grief even in his sleep.

His left hand lifted upwards, the man turning it over to gaze down at the unfamiliar palm and the same callouses he own hand had once had. This was indeed a hand that was familiar with a sword. The one thing missing was something he would have never gone without... his wedding band was missing from his finger, the simple silver and gold creation the one thing that had linked Yuuri and himself in more than physical ways. It was a gift that had been made just for him.

One thing that troubled him in that moment as he stared at the foreign hand at the end of his arm as that wherever his left arm was... it could be used as a key to one of the boxes. It was a secret he hadn't yet told Yuuri, something he was reluctant to speak about... and he regretted that decision.

Head tipping back to gaze at the bars of his prison, eyes narrowing, Conrart decided it was about time that he did something about the fact that he was chained up and restrained and to just sit there feeling sorry for himself. He wanted revenge. There was nothing pretty about that particular desire, nothing that would make it any less ugly. Yet, he could not stand the thought of the monsters that had slaughtered his beloved Yuuri still breathing the same air that his husband once had.

The next opportunity that presented itself would be the one he took and got himself out of this prison. Sickened or not, he would not let his own weakened state keep him down and out.

_"I am so sorry." _

Conrart's head twisted towards the whisper of sound, confusion filling him the moment he caught sight of the shimmering silhouette that stood against of the walls of his cage. Only the faint shimmer of gold and a pale blue coloured the shadow as it approached him, a hand reaching out to lightly touch against Conrart's arm before the man flinched away in reaction to the coolness of that touch.

"Who are you?" He rasped, his throat raw and dry with thirst. Brows knitted together, his skin still tingling from where the strange shadow had touched him.

_"A friend."_ The shadow responded, head tipping upwards and a pair of inhumanly blue eyes stared at him, pinning Conrart in place with the intensity of it. _"I haven't much time." _

The response just left Conrart even more confused. "I..."

_"You must live."_ Cold insubstantial hands curled around Conrart's jaw and lifted his head upwards, holding him there. _"Your birth, your very existence has all been for a reason. Your survival in necessary for the future of this world..." _

"Shinou." It was a surprised sound that escaped him as he recognised who it was that spoke to him.

_"They cannot know we have spoken_." Shinou's head turned back to glance over his shoulder at the shadows that seemed to skitter across the wall. Like the creatures in the church, they were wet slimy things that were without solid form or substance. _"You can tell no one, do you understand me?"_

"I..."

_"Your life is the key to everything." _

And within the blink of an eye, Shinou had vanished into nothingness, leaving Conrart alone and extremely confused at the event that had just played out right before his eyes. None of it quite made any sense; it was as if he had just been given another piece to a puzzle that was laying around him, but it didn't fit together with any of the pieces that he already possessed.

The shadowy leeches squeezed themselves up from between the stones in the dungeon's flooring, keeping out something to feed their ravenous appetites.

There was a single pair of footsteps echoing along the corridor and Yozak appeared at the bars to his cell, the man wearing the yellow and white uniform of a commander in the Big Cimaron military. There were shadows in Yozak's eyes that hadn't been there before, turning the deep blue into a troubled almost stormy grey in the light of the prison block. One hand curled around one of the bars and the man stood there, gazing in at Conrart with torment flashing across his face for only a moment, before it vanished under a stoic mask that had never belonged on this man's face.

"What was the price...?" Conrart asked as he stood up, ignoring the shadows that played around him. "What was the price of your betrayal, Yozak?" Some part of him still couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing, his heart aching in his chest to see his long time friend like this. "Have you truly turned your back on the Great Demon Kingdom?"

"You wouldn't understand." Yozak breathed out, his eyes dropping, unable to meet the quiet accusations in Conrart's gaze.

"I won't if you don't explain yourself." The half-breed sighed, his fingers rubbing across his face and trying to rub away the weariness that had invaded his very soul. "Yozak... we both long ago decided that we would live as Demon Tribesmen. We made that decision together."

"Sometimes the decisions we make are the wrong ones." The shadowed eyes lifted to peer in at Conrart, his free hand lifting to slip a little between the bars, stretching out towards the man. "Trust in me, Conrart. Join me... I still... I still love you."

"My heart is Yuuri's." His voice was soft, but firm. "It will always remain so."

Yozak's head dropped against the cold iron of the bars, eyes closing tightly against the pain that wrapped itself around his chest. Why couldn't this man understand? He was doing this to protect Conrart. "I..." The words stuck in his throat, the explanation that might win him Conrart's trust was there... right there on his lips, but he had been commanded to say nothing of the plans Shinou had outlined.

"Don't do this, Gurrier." Chains rattled as he moved forwards, attempting to catch sight of his friend's shadowed eyes.

"I have no other choice."

* * *

><p><strong>XD TADA! Hope you enjoyed this! A lot of little things are explained and we get to meet Flynn. We also find out exactly how Murata ended up getting sent along for the ride! <strong>


	29. Part 29: Decisions

**Author's Note: This chapter relies on some of the events in the beginning of Part 7. I hope you enjoy it. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but Marcus, Jonathon and Dieter. **

* * *

><p><strong>The Royal Palace, Lambeil, Big Cimaron<strong>

Conrart's brows drew together as he regarded the guard that stood on the other side of the bars to his cell, the man's grey-blue eyes regarded him with curiosity and a little uncertainty. He straightened where he sat against the wall, carefully tucking the small shard of metal he had been using to unlock the heavy shackles from around his bruised and raw ankles into his sleeve. Lips pressing together, he dropped his head again, feigning indifference to the man's presence.

Several silent minutes later, there was a rattle of metal rubbing against metal.

One silver eye drifted open to regard the soldier who stood by the lock to his cell. A key slowly sliding into the lock with a satisfying click when it was turned and the heavy solid wrought iron door opened inwards just a little. The man's head lifted again, their gazes actually locking this time, holding him still.

Another key skittered across the floor and bounced against the edge of Conrart's boot, before glittering up at him. His hand reached out and slowly wrapped around it, his gaze questioning as he studied the man and felt a spark of recognition. Where had he seen this man before?

"The debt is paid." The soldier whispered, glancing back over his shoulder and stepping back away from the now open doorway to Conrart's cell. "You saved my brother Jonathon's life in Van. I saw you... You understand... the debt is _paid_."

Conrart didn't quite know what to say to that. However, the key in his grasp released his shackles, which rattled and dropped to the floor with a heavy clank. "Thank you."

The man didn't acknowledge Conrart's words. "There is a man by the name of Dieter Soyakov in the town of Bhennon, he'll be able to help you leave the country." Before anything else happened, the guard vanished into the shadows down the corridor, vanishing as quickly as he had appeared, leaving Conrart on his own with an open cell door.

He remembered Jonathon, the man who had helped to hide them after they had freed him before he had been sent into the Coliseum in Van on Vandavia Island. The human had been a member of a small resistance movement. It had been something Yuuri protected and might just offer Conrart an opportunity to find out who it had been who had murdered his beloved... and also allow him to help prevent the war he knew was brewing between the Great Demon Kingdom and Big Cimaron.

Silently he stepped out of his cell and straightened his shoulders as the nausea he had been suffering because of the esoteric stones began to ease. He had a plan and it was in that moment he knew he was truly alone.

* * *

><p><strong>Gillum, Caloria<strong>

Darkness clawed at his mind, a whisper sounding in both ears, growing louder and louder with each heartbeat. He could feel it... the slow crawling of that blackness sliding over his skin. The mouths of those leeches sucking at his magic, recoiling when he burned them. Immediately he jerked back from the contact, recoiling at the slick coldness that attempted to coil around him.

With a violent jerk and a sudden cry of Conrart's name, he came awake abruptly. One hand swept out, searching for the warmth of his beloved's body and froze when Yuuri realised where he was. His body rested upright on the bench seat of a carriage, his head having been resting against Adalbert Von Grantz's shoulder, his hand pressed against the man's solid chest. Every part of him was trembling with the force of his emotions, his vision blurred by the tears that still clung to his lashes.

Embarrassment burned through his gut as he met the startled green eyes of Lady Flynn Gilbit, who sat on a bench opposite him. Swallowing hard around the lump that had formed in his throat, he felt shame follow closely on the heels of his embarrassment. Sitting up straight, he rubbed a hand across his face so that he could brush the tears from his lashes and make himself more presentable.

He stared down at his ring that glimmered from one finger and felt the dark burn in the pit of his stomach again even more strongly. Closing his fingers around it, he tugged once, twice to slide it off and slipped it onto a leather cord he carried in one pocket to tie back his hair, which was still hidden beneath the leather cap. Slipping it over his head, he tucked it away beneath his clothes without a word, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"You loved him very much, didn't you?" It was Flynn who broke the taut silence that strung between them all as the carriage jolted along taking them away from the mansion.

"He was the other half of my soul, Lady Flynn." Yuuri tipped his head up, obsidian eyes meeting hers and revealing just how devastated he was by the death of his beloved Conrart. The sickening part of it was that his mind kept reaching out, searching for the other half of himself, looking for Conrart and always coming back with nothing.

A glance out the window of the carriage at the dark trees and buildings rushing by the windows, his head turned towards Adalbert and gave him a small questioning look, both brows raised in question.

"It appears that Maxine was not alone, he returned with Small Cimaron Troops from a ship that landed around in the next bay before you awakened." His lips pressed together into a thin slightly troubled line. "I thought it best to retreat for now."

"There was a Box." Yuuri whispered softly, his palms rubbing slightly against his pants, fingers clenching and unclenching slowly, trying to calm down his swirling thoughts enough to think. "Right at the end... I sensed it. It was there... a dark shadow beneath the mansion."

"How... how do you know about that?" She whispered softly, eyes wide in her pale face as she watched Yuuri. "No one knows about that... and no one ever should." Swallowing hard, she curled both hands into her lap, before staring down at them. "That thing is dangerous if touched and even I know not to touch that kind of relic."

"It's not just a relic, Lady Flynn. You are right not to speak about such things, but the forces within it are never resting. I have seen what a single Forbidden Box can do when it's in human hands. The recent severe drought in Conansia Svelera was caused by a Box." Lips pressing together, he regarded Flynn for a very long moment, his dark eyes capturing hers and holding her gaze hostage.

"Tell him what you wished to ask of him." Adalbert rumbled from beside Yuuri, his jaw set a little, expression grim.

Lady Flynn had actually visibly paled, her fingers curling together in her lap, finally managing to lift her gaze again to focus on Yuuri's face she swallowed hard around the lump that had formed itself in her throat. "We need to go to Big Cimaron... its not to late to fix all this..." Her hands pressed against her lower belly, fingers rubbing together and trying to tamp down on the nervousness she felt as Adalbert watched her with dark speculation and a faint scowl colouring his features. "This is my last chance to make everything right..."

"You must understand... you..." Her chest heaved slightly. "You are all that I have left to bargain with... my people have lost too much... our army has been stripped away from us by Big Cimaron as they conquer and take apart all of the smaller countries that surround their borders. Now Small Cimaron takes what young men still remain... they are nothing more than boys... its happening everywhere... We might still be able to stop this..."

Yuuri felt a dark cold knot settle in his belly, knowing exactly what she was asking him to do for the sake of her people. She wanted him to trade himself over to Big Cimaron in exchange for the lives of some of her people. One for the many. He understood it... understood why she would ask him to, but it was still a cold thing... her words... her request.

But he was already dying inside... it could be one last thing he could do to maybe make this just a little more right.

"After we have the Box and it is returned to the Great Demon Kingdom, I will go with you to Big Cimaron."

"Sir...!" Adalbert Von Grantz's face flushed with denial. "We need you... There is still..."

"You have my word, Lady Flynn. I will go to Big Cimaron and see what I can do for your people, even if the price is my freedom or my life." He would be able to face the monster that had ordered the death of his beloved Conrart and he would make sure that the man regretted ever going after what he loved most in this world. "I will protect Caloria."

She couldn't believe it. Wide green eyes just stared at him in incomprehension, tears beginning to slowly run down her cheeks and cling to her lashes in shock that he had actually agreed to her request.

"Shibuya." Dark eyes were stoic and sombre as they studied him intently.

"Do not argue with me over this." His tone was harsh and biting, his obsidian eyes flashing a warning at both me and actually silencing them both with the force of his personality alone. "This is _my_ decision. Do not question me again on this matter."

Ken Murata was startled by the utter despair he saw lurking within Yuuri's eyes, the hopelessness and the life that had been drained out of him as surely as the blood had from his wound. Though that physical wound had almost been a physically mortal one, in truth it seemed like that blade had indeed found its mark.

His anger evaporated as quickly as it had come, his shoulders slumping, before he carefully enclosed her hand in both of his own, squeezing softly. "I apologise." Shaking his head, his gaze met those of both Adalbert and Ken Murata's. "I... I did not mean to snap like that..."

"I will stand with you each step of the way, Sire." Adalbert's hand landed against Yuuri's shoulder, his blue eyes troubled, but there was determination in every line of his face. "You will not be alone on this journey."

"Thank you." He breathed out, his head dipped, eyes clenched shut against the wave of emotion that almost overcame him. With that the carriage fell into silence as they headed in the direction of the docks and the horses that Adalbert had had prepared for them just in case of an emergency like this one.

Murata eyed his friend from across the carriage, seeing the pain in every angle of that slender body It truly had been a fatal wound to his friend's soul, that moment that Conrart Weller had died, and left Yuuri behind. "Shibuya... don't give up yet, there is still so much to live for."

"Like what?" His voice was frigid. The King's expression one that should have never been on the man's features, never been on a face that had once shown everyone around him such joy. "Do you know what it is like, Murata? Do you understand what it is like to feel your soul being torn away from you? To hear his scream of your name every time you close your eyes... and hear it suddenly go silent? What we shared was... far more than just physical." They had been magically bound together, something that had occurred over the last few months as Conrart's power silently began to form and grow.

"I do... understand."

Yuuri's head lifted upwards at that, surprised to find that the comment had actually come from Flynn, her fingers curled in her lap for a long moment. She stretched out her hand so that she could actually lightly touch the back of one her own and cover it.

* * *

><p><strong>Big Cimaron<strong>

Wind whipped past his face as the warhorse continued in a full out gallop, long legs eating up the ground rapidly. His grip tightened around the reins in his hands, fingers clenching tight as he kept his body close against the mount's sweaty frame. The ground trembled with the force of the army that was in pursuit, a dozen armed men bent on his capture or execution with Yozak riding in the lead.

He would not go back peacefully. He would not be caged again. No matter how much his heart burned with the betrayal he felt over Yozak's actions, he couldn't hate the man... it just wasn't in him.

Inhaling deeply of the crisp night air, he drew the faint taste of magic deep into his soul once more, welcoming the feeling that filled up a little of the gaping empty space within his chest. Studying the landscape before him, his gaze narrowed slightly as he caught the tiny twinkle of metal from amongst the thick brush that stood on either side of the road he was taking.

His horse continued up the slight incline, long legs flying easily over the ground as he gave it full rein, its long arching neck stretching out as its body moved smoothly beneath him. _Run_. He silently urged the creature, praying silently to any deity that might listen to him that he was not forced to turn around, that he was not forced to draw his sword against Gurrier Yozak. It was not like him to retreat from a battle, but this time it could not be helped. White clouds billowed from the horse's nostrils, its lungs working to the limit to supply its muscles with much needed oxygen to burn.

Men, a dozen at least. He sensed them rather than saw them, hidden amongst the branches as they were on either side of the trail. The mount continued forwards, his head tipping to the side and caught a glimpse of a man's face amongst the higher branches of a large pine that stood just ahead of him. The dark haired human gave him a sudden grin and a gesture he recognised as one almost like Yuuri's 'thumbs up', his chin nodding once in acknowledgement of Conrart before he turned his attention to the dozen men pounding up the trail behind him.

Conrart whirled his horse around the moment he heard the battle cry of the humans as they dropped from the branches, six of the riders were being knocked off their mounts and the armed rebels took their place. Blades were being drawn and more men poured out of the trees, bows strung and arrows notched ready to fly and take down the Big Cimaron soldiers.

"Surrender!" The leader called from his perch, his crossbow strung and the bolt aimed directly at Yozak's heart as the half-breed paused, his hand curled around the hilt of his sword. "Or die. We would rather not have to shed blood here..."

Every single soldier had been taken down efficiently, held in place by either an arrow pointed at them or a blade to their throats, two dozen men and women stood there defiantly clothed in green and browns to help them blend in with the dark forest around them.

The leader dropped easily to the ground, his expression darkening a little as he pinned Yozak with a hateful glare and a hiss of one word. "_Traitor_." However, his gaze turned from Yozak to regard Conrart with open relief and a genuine smile. "Lord Weller, it is an honour and a privilege to meet you."

Conrart was stunned by the fact that this man knew him, his intense silver eyes focused on his face and could not place a name to it, but offered him a bow of his head and a smile of his own. "You have my thanks for the rescue. Dieter?"

The dark haired man shook his head slightly, bowing low at the shoulder. "Marcus Brahms. We got word of what John's brother was up to and thought we might come out to meet you half way..."

"I appreciate your efforts." His mercurial eyes scanned the faces of the men and women around him, offering them the same grateful nod, but his jaw clenched when he caught the confusing mix of emotions on Yozak's face. "However... how do you know who I am?"

"Easy, my Lord." And a hand reached into the man's pocket, withdrawing a small tattered image from within and offered out for Conrart's inspection.

The image stunned Conrart into silence, his hand reached out to lift the image from where it rested in the man's palm and lifted it upwards to gaze at the face of a man who could be none other than Conrart's father... A thumb brushed over the image, touching it lightly. His long dark locks swept down around his face, hiding the grief and love that tightened the corners of his lips and made him swallow painfully hard.

"You are much like Lord Dan Hiri Weller, Sir. My grandfather served his Lordship and it is my honour to be able to serve in some capacity his son and the true heir to the throne of Cimaron."

"Conrart."

The half-breed's head turned towards where Yozak was still astride his horse, several rebels surrounding him with weapons drawn. Silver eyes pinned the man in place, the fingers of both hands curling into tight fists at his sides, feeling his heart ache in response to the plea in the man's voice.

"Come back with me..." Shadowed azure orbs shimmered with powerful emotions, Yozak knew that if he was refused this time, there would never be another chance for them. "It's not too late, Conrart."

"I cannot." This man had been his friend since childhood, a constant companion for decades, but now, he could barely recognise the man dressed in the white and yellow uniform of a Cimaron Commander.

"You trusted me at Lutenberg." Those eyes were staring hard at Conrart, a silent plea etched into every deep line marring Yozak's features. "I'm asking you to trust me again, these people... you don't know them... you know _me_." He wanted to say more, wanted to explain about what had pushed him to take this path, what Shinou had said to him, but it had been clear when Conrart woke up having no memory of what happened to him that Shinou didn't want that.

"Then explain what happened, Gurrier." His left arm lifted, fist clenching slightly as he stepped around Marcus Brahms and right up to Yozak's horse. "Tell me."

"I cannot."

Frustration coloured Conrart's face, his eyes closing tightly against the anguish that scorched through his very blood and bones at the refusal of his closest friend to answer the question and put an ease to the heaviness that rested like a lead weight in his gut. Bowing his head, the half-breed turned his head back towards Marcus and caught the man's slightest nod in his direction giving him permission. "You cannot or you will not?"

A stony silence answered his question.

"Go back to your Master, Yozak." His jaw clenched at those harsh words. "Tell him that he will regret the day he ever thought to touch the Demon King." Chin lifting, his silver eyes were ice cold as they regarded Yozak, revealing the predator that lurked within him, the Lion who had been crossed. "Tell him that the Lion of Lutenberg will see this Kingdom brought to its knees for its crimes against the nations of this world. The massacres and genocide that have been done in his name will be paid for."

Yozak wanted to say something, anything to wipe away the dark mask that had dropped across his friend's face, he looked as he had all those years ago just before the battle of Lutenberg. This man would die before surrendering willingly, he almost cracked, almost relented... but he kept his silence, his fingers clenching the reins of his horse. "Yuuri would not want you to do that... he would want you safe."

"Don't you speak his name!" It was a vicious snarl, Conrart's expression twisting into one that burned with fierce rage of a temper that was ready to snap at a moment's notice. "Do not _dare_ speak his name."

Gurrier Yozak paled sharply in response to that, before conceding silent defeat and whipping his horse into motion, knowing that he would have to pass on the message and return with more troops to retrieve these soldiers. However, what had surprised him was that none of his men had been killed in the ambush. The rebels had gone out of their way to make sure that none were killed... which he had to admit was extremely strange.

* * *

><p><strong>Caloria<strong>

"Convincing enough?" Yuuri questioned as he sat aside a warhorse, his dark eyes peering out at his companions from within the shadows of his helmet. Though as his head tipped to one side to regard Ken Murata he couldn't help but smile a little as he watched the man's horse circle around, the mount not quite certain what its rider wanted.

"Do we have to ride?" The man asked, brows drawing together slightly as he gave the horse a frustrated look and a soft huff of sound.

One gloved hand reached out to curl around the reins of Murata's horse and drew its slow circling to a stop and up alongside his own mount. "If we are to catch up to them, _yes_. The townsfolk say they are heading north along the coastal road, a carriage would be quite conspicuous." Yuuri glanced back towards Lady Flynn who stood between the horses, her green eyes troubled and her hands curling before her. "Lady Flynn, its best that you stay here... your people will guard you."

"I cannot lose you." She breathed out, biting her lower lip softly, unable to help her growing anxiety. Her hand rested against the neck of Yuuri's horse, before dropping to curl into the bridle of the stallion. "I _won't_ lose you."

"You're going to follow us, aren't you?" Shaking his head, he almost wanted to laugh at the determined little look that crossed her features.

A stubborn little expression rested on her face, lips pressing together, her chin tipping up.

"Lady Flynn." His dark eyes met hers and held her gaze. "It is safer for you to stay with us if that is what you are planning. However, you must promise me that if I tell you to run, you will and you won't look back." One gloved hand reached out towards her, fingers spread in silent invitation. "_Promise_ _me_." Obsidian eyes darkened, narrowing on her.

Swallowing around the lump in her throat, she hesitated for only a moment before her small fingers slipped into his, feeling power behind his grip."I promise."

Yuuri lifted her with surprising ease onto the saddle before him, tucking her in close to his body and securing her in his arms. "Hold on to me." He said close to her ear, his warm breath fluttering lightly against her hair.

A fine flush sprang up across her cheeks as she wrapped both arms tightly around his strong chest, being careful to avoid the hypersensitive spot where he had taken a dagger to the side. Flynn's face tucked in against his throat, holding on a little more tightly to him. She was surprised by the warmth that stirred for the first time in years deep within her heart.

Murata and Adalbert followed only a few lengths behind, Adalbert constantly glancing to the side to make sure Murata remained seated, almost smiling as he watched the man grip the saddle and reins with both hands and just hang on for dear life.

* * *

><p><strong>Private Yacht, <em>Liberty Love<em>, Cimaron Waters**

The paper fell from her boneless fingers, tears streaking down her cheeks to spatter across the paper and make the ink run. Her world felt like it was slowly beginning to crumble inwards on itself, collapsing right down on top of her. She had been happily surprised to receive the message from Gwendal, something that had been a surprise as it was usually Conrart who wrote to her. However, the first stark simple sentence had torn out her heart.

Staggering backwards, Cecilie Von Spitzweg let out a heart-breaking scream that shattered the peace of the morning.

The door slammed open, the lock actually splintering the wooden frame that held it in place as Raven didn't bother with the handle, his sword clearing its sheath as he was prepared to take on any enemy that had dared to think of harming his wife. Yet, it was the horror and despair that was etched onto his wife's face that made his sword thump against the wood as both his hands went out towards her.

She flung herself forwards into his embrace, burying her face against his shirt, both hands clenching in the fabric, desperately holding on to him. Great sobs shook her body, tears soaking into the half buttoned white shirt Raven wore, burning his skin where they touched and searing his heart along with each one that fell. Arms coiling tightly around her slender shoulders, he cradled her against his body, slowly stepping backwards and sitting down on the couch, taking her with him.

Long blonde locks cascaded down across his arms and legs, spreading out around them in silky smooth waves, instead of the stylised ringlets she had previously favoured. Stroking his fingers through the softness at the back of her neck, tenderly tipping her head backwards so that he could see her face. It felt like a knife had been plunged deep into his heart to see such open sorrow on her pallid features. A thumb attempted to brush one away, but it was replaced by several more within a heartbeat.

"What is it, Cecilie?" His forehead lightly touched hers, his pale blue-grey eyes softening as he brushed a kiss against her temple.

"My baby..." Her lips pressed together, her hand covering her mouth and she could barely get the words out between the powerful sobs that rocked her to her core. "My precious little boy... they... murdered him..."

"Wolfram?" Raven loved each of those boys, he felt a deep stab of grief strike him just as hard at the thought of one of them being gone.

"No... my _Conrart_. Oh... by Shinou..." Green eyes widened and she was scrambling away, escaping his grip and sprawling onto the floor before he could stop her. Her hands lifted up the sheet of paper, but it shook so hard, she couldn't stead it enough to read the rest of the message. "Yuuri... what about Yuuri? This..." The young man had been so in love with Conrart, adoring the man beyond all reason... it would kill their King...

Raven reached out to curl his hands around hers, startled to see his own hands were trembling as much as hers were. However, he swallowed down his pain, pushed away everything and carefully drew the note from between her fingers before her shaking tore the tear-dampened parchment. Lifting it to eye level, he read slowly over the words that were mottled a little from where her tears had fallen onto the page.

"He's missing." The man rasped, finding his own throat clogged by unshed tears. "The King is missing... but they haven't alerted the populous, such news would bring chaos to the people. There was a fire..." And also Raven began to speak about the ambush that had taken the lives of both Conrart Weller and Gurrier Yozak, left Gunter close to death from a poisoned arrow and left their King missing somewhere beyond the borders of the Great Demon Kingdom.

Cecilie choked back another sob, her body pressing up against Raven's as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her back against his body, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. One hand dropped down to her stomach, covering it and feeling Raven's cover her own protectively.

"They were so happy..." She had almost lost him before, almost lost him to her brother's selfishness and her own inability to face up to him in order to protect her own son. "They were... so very happy..." Their wedding had been something that would remain in the memories of the Kingdom for centuries to come... it would devastate the entire Kingdom to lose her beloved son... and it would crush their people to lose Yuuri. "How could Shinou allow this to happen?"

Small fists pounded against Raven's chest, as her sobs became harder at the injustice of it all. That it had been only that morning that she had found out that she was once more with child, her joy had been immeasurable as had that of her husband. Yet now, that joy had been stolen from her with the knowing that her beloved half-blooded son would never experience the same joys as she had with her husband. The chance to have children, the chance to grow together through the years and feel their love deepen with each passing day. Every last drop of happiness had been incinerated by those hungry flames.

All he could do was hold her, knowing that nothing he could ever say or do could ease the pain that would remain fresh within her heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Forests Near Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom [Past]<strong>

_Yuuri tipped his head back and inhaled deeply, nose pressed against Conrart's throat and took in the sweet scent of the man, his mouth brushing against the lightly stubbled jaw. "I love you." He breathed out._

_"As I you." Conrart whispered sleepily, cinnamon eyes drifted open t gaze down into Yuuri's face inches from his own and dipped his head just enough to capture the sweet willing mouth in a passionate kiss. One calloused palm lifted to cup his cheek, thumb sweeping over the length of his silky jaw and deepened the contact, practically devouring him whole. _

_It was only when their bodies demanded air that they parted. The tips of their noses brushed before Yuuri dropped a little kiss on the corner of Conrart's lips, licking across the lower one playfully and watched a smile come easily to his husband's mouth. To Yuuri, it was like watching the sun coming up on a clear winter morning, warming the chilly air and chasing away the night. A finger lightly touched those lips, feeling the softness of them beneath his slow caress. _

_"Your smile..." Obsidian eyes softened, the man becoming a little more aware of Conrart's presence against his body when those smiling lips closed around his fingertip and it was sucked into that hot mouth. _

_"What about my smile?" The soldier chuckled. _

_"There is nothing more beautiful than your smile." There was nothing more beautiful in this world than having Conrart beside him, the man's warm body surrounding his own. "My Husband." _

_"I have to admit... I rather like you dressed like this." A finger brushed against the exposed nipple lightly, stroking across the hardening bud playfully as his mouth wandered along his throat softly. Nuzzling him affectionately, his lips turned upwards at the corners even more into a teasing grin, eyes sparkling. _

_"I'm only dressed in your shirt..." _

_"See why I like it so much?" Conrart stroked his palm down his lover's side and to his hip, sliding his fingers back and forth across the warm flesh, brushing the edges of his unbuttoned shirt where it covered one pale thigh. _

_"Tease." _

_"For you, always." He laughed softly, rolling them both until Yuuri was sprawled out on the grassy bank by the river, his body resting between his beloved's spread thighs. "What should I do with you?" Conrart rubbed cheeks with Yuuri, before his mouth pressed a kiss over his lover's racing pulse, tongue flickering over the pale skin. Tracing his way across, his lips stroking over the sensitive spot just under the man's ear, drawing the lobe into his mouth for several light tugs before nibbling up around the shell of it. _

_Sliding one knee up beneath Yuuri's thigh, he lifted it and allowed one hand to stroke intimately over Yuuri's length and across and down until he found where he had taken his lover no more than an hour earlier. "Would you like me within you?" All of the cinnamon had faded from his eyes and left them a dazzling silver that shimmered like quicksilver in the morning sunshine that spread across their bodies through the canopy of the tree above them. "Sliding slowly up here..." Two fingers slipped into the slick passage, fingertips seeking out that sweetspot within and caressing it lightly. _

_Yuuri jerked upwards at the intimate caress, his fingers scratched down across Conrart's shoulders and back as his hips arched into the motion. A groan escaped him as he almost wanted to plead for more. He was still hypersensitive from where his lover had driven into his body hard and deep, coaxing such pleasure from him that it left him screaming out Conrart's name at the top of his lungs making the man practically beam with male satisfaction. _

_"Conrart!" The King's head arched backwards, lips parting as he was gasping for air was he was being caressed deeply, his muscles being stretched again slowly. A thumb stroked against the back of his balls lightly, while his beloved's other hand curled around his shaft and his fingers drew upwards in a slow heated caress, the tip of his thumbnail circling over the slit and spreading the warm drops of fluid that had formed there. _

_"What do you want, Yuuri?" Conrart practically purred against his lover's chest, his tongue flicking lightly across a nipple again, loving the helpless little squirms of his lover. "What would you like me to do to your beautiful body?" _

_"I want you inside of me." He hissed out, gasping when a third finger slipped into him, stretching him even wider. Hips trembling as he was continually caressed, his entire body shuddering with wave after wave of pleasure. "Please..." _

_"I love hearing you plead with me to have you..." The half-breed's grin was widening, his entire body aching to give his lover exactly what he had asked for. "You are mine." He breathed out, almost unable to believe that fact for one long moment, before he found his head being tugged upwards and Yuuri's mouth hot against his. One hand was tangled in his long hair, holding him in place as his mouth was practically being devoured as he was devouring his lover in return with his hands. _

_Conrart relented, his fingers slipping free and his hand tugged at his pants and freed himself from their tight confines. Hooking his lover's ankles over his shoulders, baring him intimately with the action, he slipped himself into that tight, slick passage with a groan of satisfaction. _

_Yuuri was pinned beneath his lover like that, spread intimately and feeling the hard deep thrust of that length burning its way deeply into him, sending fire spreading over his sweetspot with each plunge. His body jerked with the force of his lover's thrusts, his head dropping backwards onto the grass and he was whimpering hotly, lips parted. Panting hard, he pressed himself into the hot motions that ran through his entire body like a wild fire. _

_"More..." He breathed out, dark eyes sparking with tiny flickers of crimson, his hands reaching out to curl around his lover's shoulders again, pushing himself back against each earth-shattering thrust. "**Harder**." _

_The man did as he was asked, putting all his weight behind his thrusts, letting out a low purring growl of pleasure as muscles clenched and attempted to clamp down on that large hot length. Pushing deeply into him, he rocked his hips against that slender rear, his hands catching his lover around the thighs to keep him steady. _

_The friction was too much for Yuuri, his mouth opened and he screamed his release, fluid spilling across his lover's fingers where he had been jerking Yuuri off. Muscles clenched so tightly around Conrart, he couldn't pull back, his length being trapped deeply within the man and he roared out his beloved's name as he spilled himself deep inside of him. Allowing Yuuri's legs to slip from his shoulders and coil around his hips, the half-breed collapsed over his husband, burying his face against the curve of his neck. _

_Arms and legs coiled around him, keeping him inside of Yuuri, buried deep even as he softened. A hand slowly stroked over his hair lightly, smoothing it down and away from his cheeks. _

_"My beloved Prince, my Conrart." Soft kisses were brushed across the man's face when he lifted it from where he had nuzzled his beloved's neck. "I love you so much." Both hands cupped the man's jaw, holding it still and wishing he knew exactly what to say to him, his expression softening after several moments. Their eyes met and Yuuri's lips turned upwards into an adoring smile, one that came from right there within his soul._

* * *

><p><strong>Caloria<strong>

It was almost like the very first night he had spent in the Great Demon Kingdom, the smell of soup and cooking meat permeating the air from the nearby campfire. His sword rested against the trunk to one side of his shoulders, his back propped up against it as he stared off into the forest, still aware of everyone around him, but not finding himself willing to talk.

"I'm cold..." One knee lifted and he wrapped an arm around it, remembering the biting chill of the autumn air. His head tipped to the side as it rested against his knee, staring at the empty space beside him.

_"Here..." _

The memory of that strong arm coiling around his shoulders and the warmth of Conrart's body as he was pulled against him filled his soul and Yuuri clung to it like a dying man to a lifeline. He felt so _cold_. A deep chill that had invaded his very bones and settled there. He could almost image his husband's face, a smile on those silken lips, amusement sparkling in deep cinnamon eyes that met his own.

"My Prince... my beloved Prince..." His free hand clenched into a fist, cold hard rage boiling up within the deep gaping wound that had been torn in his soul.

_"I love you, my Little Dragon." _

"And I you." He whispered into the breeze. "Always."

"Here."

The feminine voice startled Yuuri out of his thoughts and back to reality, the few moments of peace he had managed to hold onto evaporated like mist in the hot morning sun. Head lifting from where it had been resting again his knee, he regarded the beautiful woman who stood before him, a bowl in her hands. Lady Flynn hesitated a moment before offering out the steaming bowl, offering him a hopeful smile.

"Thank you." He said softly, one scarred hand reaching out to accept the bowl from her grip. "I appreciate it." Tipping his head in respect, he glanced down at the contents of the bowl and felt his stomach rebel at the thought of putting any food in it. It looked unappealing and didn't tempt his senses at all. However, he offered her a smile and forced himself to eat a few spoonfuls before setting it aside unable to stomach more of it.

Flynn hesitated again, her hands wringing together a little as she gazed at him with those soulful green eyes that held a flick of guilt in them.

"Feel free to sit with me if you like." He shifted over a little to one side leaving space for her. Offering her a smile, even though it didn't quite reach his dark eyes, Yuuri wanted nothing more than to be alone with his thoughts.

Settling herself, she regarded him for a long moment, before tucking her legs up under the skirt of her dress, attempting to keep herself warm. She started when she felt a blanket wrap around her shoulders and body, cocooning her in warmth.

"I've never truly hated someone before." Yuuri whispered the words softly, his hands resting against his upraised knee as his eyes drifted to focus on the fire. "I've felt rage before... but nothing... nothing quite like this." A long soft sigh slipped past his lips, his head dropping back to rest against the trunk of the tree, jaw clenching. "I want to kill those responsible for my husband's death... but I don't know where to start on finding those responsible."

"What... what was he like?"

"Conrart?" Yuuri's head tipped forwards and a bubble of warmth slowly spread through him as he thought of Conrart again, clinging to the memories that lingered in his heart. "He was... strength." Laughing softly at the description, his lips curved into a smile. "He always knew how to make me smile. Always... holding me close. He was a prince to me... charming, loving... sweet, but also fiercely protective. There were such passions within him. Ones that could tear him apart... or give him strength to face any adversity."

Chuckling softly, Yuuri rubbed a hand back across the top of the leather cap that restrained his hair. "I am an independent person by nature... I like getting my hands dirty... and Conrart always... he always gave me that freedom. He would fight by my side, support me, but never confine me. He loved the people... he would spend hours with the children..."

"He sounds like a wonderful person." Flynn whispered softly. "I wish... I could have met him."

"I think he would have liked you, Lady Flynn." His head bowed slightly, before he was reaching out to lightly brush her hair back from her face in a platonic gesture of affection. "I am certain, your husband was as a good a man as my Conrart."

Her fingers curled around his hand, holding it and drawing it close to her cheek. "Julius..."

Shaking his head slightly, he offered her a smile, seeing something in her eyes and knowing that he could never give what she silently asked for. "I promise you, Lady Flynn, Caloria will not fall to Small Cimaron. You have my word, I will help you protect your country."

"You... would do that... even though...I..." Shock crossed her features as she regarded him for a long moment, lips parted. The woman couldn't believe what he had said, even after all that she had done... all that she had asked of him. He would still be willing to protect her country... protect... _humans_.

"I could do no less." His hand curled around her shoulder and squeezed slightly. "I want to protect this world from such evil as those you face, Lady Flynn. I will not allow those who took my beloved from me get away with murdering others... shattering families..."

"Thank you." She whispered, guilt settled a little in her gut as she gazed into his open and honest features. For the first time since the death of her husband, she felt that Caloria might just have a chance to survive the dark future she knew to be looming over them all.

* * *

><p><strong>Conrart's plot line will be based upon some of his actions in episode 110 of the Anime. I thought it actually worked rather well for this. <strong>


	30. Part 30: Walking In Shadows

**Author's Note: TADA! CHAPTER ALERT! LOL**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but Alden Mackinner and Valentin Nyle. **

**Dedicated to Nitebirdeh for doing me such a lovely piece of fan art for this story which I might post a link to in my profile tomorrow. **

* * *

><p><strong>Caloria<strong>

_Long limbs were stretched out on the sun-warmed grass, his lips turned upwards into a small bemused smile as he turned his head just enough to peer up at Yuuri with one half-opened cinnamon eye. "A new hobby of yours?" _

_"More than a hobby." The King admitted, coming to sit down beside where Conrart Weller sprawled contentedly over the grassy hill. _

Yuuri's lips turned upwards into a small smile as he rubbed a hand over his face and shifted on the hard packed ground. There had always been something about the man that had drawn his eye no matter what he was doing. The elegant lines of his powerful body showing the years of fighting and training he had gone through to be the finest swordsman the Great Demon Kingdom had ever seen.

It almost felt as if the man was there with him. A warm presence that filled that dark space within him for a few moments as the blanket of sleep lifted away from him. Fingers curled slowly, the young man sitting up and feeling the travel blanket slip off his body, it was only then he realised his hand was gripped tightly around his wedding band which hung against his bare chest.

To his surprise, he found Flynn sitting on the other side of the fire from him, starting breakfast, her eyes widening slightly as she gazed at him through the flames. A flush slid across her cheeks at the side of his bare skin, however she swallowed and her eyes traced downwards across the scars that littered his skin, and the half sealed slash that ran across his side in a star shaped pattern where the blade had been twisted inside of his flesh.

Offering her a small smile, he clung hard to the momentary happiness that warmed him up, melting away the layers of ice that had begun to form around his heart and memories of his beloved prince. It almost felt as if Conrart _was_ there, an indistinct presence that hovered in the back of his mind again where he was meant to be. Could his beloved's soul still be in this world searching for him? It was a silly, sad, thought, but it was one he wanted to hold close to his heart for just a little longer.

For the first time in days, he felt the dragon begin to stir again within him, its head lifting and scenting the air. A low growl of satisfaction rumbled from within it as it caught the hint of their prey on the breeze. Small Cimaron would regret every acting against Caloria or any of the other weaker nations. Yuuri never had tolerated bullies well and wouldn't allow they to continue as they had been.

* * *

><p><strong>Beslan, Border Town, Big Cimaron<strong>

Tears were rolling down the dirt streaked face of the little boy, his hands grasping empty air over the arm of the uniformed officer who held him, while his father was being dragged away by Big Cimaron soldiers. "PAPA!"

The man fought against his capturers. One fist connecting with one of the soldiers' faces, sending a spray of red blood everywhere as the soldier's nose broke with a sickening crunch of bone and cartilage. Wrenching himself free, he slammed hard into the man who held his son, knocking him to the snow strewn cobblestones as he swept the little boy into his arms, cradling him protectively close.

However, before he could turn to run the pommel of a sword struck him hard across the back of the skull, sending him to the ground. He sprawled as a dead weight across the body of his son, the little boy crying out, his small hands touching the man's face, trying to wake his father up.

Soldiers stood on either side of the prisoner, their hands closing around his upper arms, lifting his unconscious weight upwards and leaving the boy clinging to the man's clothes. The child was being dragged along the ground, tiny limbs being scratched badly by the sharp-stoned street.

Families were being literally torn apart, house by house throughout the walled town of Beslan. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters were being dragged out and shackled like nothing more than animals in the town square, herded together and forced down onto their knees. Their loved ones could do nothing more than look on with fear glittering in their pale faces while they kept clear of the armed soldiers that would quite happily cut them down without a second thought.

"Hurry up!" A soldier snarled at a boy no older than twelve as he stumbled when he was shoved from behind. "I said, HURRY UP!" The hard shaft of the long spear the warrior held came swinging around to strike the boy, however it never landed.

An old grey haired man leapt at the soldier, knocking the man away and the weapon slammed with an empty crack against the stone just to one side of the boy.

"Grandpapa!" The youth called out, trying to turn around, when he was shoved again by another soldier as the first turned on the wrinkled old man who had struck him across the back.

Before the soldier could draw his sword, an arrow suddenly struck the ground just by his boot, startling the man and making him rock back in surprise to lifting his head in the direction it had come from. Several others stared at it in shock, before their heads turned towards the rooftop where it had originated from to stare at a single man who stood there, silver eyes burning darkly with rage.

"What is this?" The soldier rasped in shock, stumbling back a step away from where the old man was being cradled awkwardly in the arms of his grandson.

"He came for us!" A woman shouted out, the frightened townsfolk beginning to slowly creep forth from their homes, their eyes trained on the tall imposing man standing alone, bow in hand.

"That's him...!"

"It can't be!"

Conrart Weller was dressed from head to toe in deep blue fabric, a colour that had once belonged to the Weller family and had been carried on in the uniforms and flag of Small Cimaron. His face was half covered, concealing in part his identity. For all he was a Weller, a direct descendant of the Kings of Cimaron, he had no interest in the throne, but he did in the safety of these people. Yuuri would have never turned his back on them and nor would he when they were in such need of both hope and a little guidance.

"It's the Blue Wind!" The boy cried.

A _week_.

A week and already the people were beginning to stir in anger and rage over how they and their neighbours were being treated. All that was needed was a catalyst, which Marcus Brahms assured Conrart he apparently was.

"So you're the bastard who's been leading the rebel army?" The leader of the soldiers snarled in outrage, his sword already being drawn from its sheath at his side and lifted in challenge. Sword tip gesturing in Conrart's direction, the Cimaron commander called. "Seize him! Bring him to me alive!"

"BROTHERS!" Conrart's voice echoed over the sounds of the rushing soldiers that were charging towards the building he had perched on. "SISTERS! Stand together against these men who would take away your loved ones! Unite against the darkness that eats away at your freedom! Stand together!"

A roar of answer came from the throats of his fellow rebels, over five dozen men and women rose from where they had been hidden on the roofs of the surrounding buildings.

"For freedom!" Conrart shouted and launched himself forwards just as esoteric explosions slammed into the ground from one of the several mages that their group contained, knocking back several of the troops.

His blade slashed through the bindings of the young boy as he landed. Conrart's actions freed the boy and protected him from several soldiers with several deft parries as the youth half dragged and half carried his old grandfather to safety of the armed villagers that were coming out of the houses. They stood with the rebels, strengthened by numbers to finally throw off some of the tyranny that had been weighing them down for far too long.

Conrart was already charging the first enemy that turned to face him with a roar. He was just like the wind they described him as, body spinning and twisting around, taking down one enemy after another, never stopping as he took out his rage on those that would dare to hurt innocent children and the elderly. There was no forgiveness within him for these acts of brutality.

"Don't be afraid! Cut them down!" The commander shouted, even though the man was beginning to retreat towards the wagons laden with all the valuables that had been stolen from these people during the arrests earlier. "KILL THEM!"

The Lion of Lutenberg stormed forwards, downing men as he went the moment they got into his way, silver eyes blazing as they narrowed and focused on his prey. He didn't stop even when a blade nicked his skin, drawing blood to the surface. His blade flashed as it came down towards the commander, baring his teeth at the man. The man managed to get a sword up in time to meet the powerful strike that knocked him backwards and against one of the wagons.

There was recognition in this man's eyes, some flicker of understanding of exactly who Conrart Weller was. It appeared that Belar had finally figured out exactly who he had been holding in his dungeon for several days. He could almost taste the man's fear, the terror written across the man's every feature, while he barely held off the blade that could so easily take his life.

"_You_ _know_." It was a vicious snarl, silver eyes narrowed to slits as they stared into the face of this enemy, aware that he might just get some information concerning those responsible for the murder of his beloved Yuuri.

"Please..." The man practically whimpered like a coward, the soldier's face having gone a stark white. "...Please don't kill me."

"Why should I show mercy to one who stood by and watched children being _beaten_?" With a deft twist, Conrart disarmed the man, the tip of his sword pressed against the man's jugular.

"I know their names." The commander wheedled, brown eyes speculative as they stared up at the deadly predator who stood over him. "I could tell you... for..."

"Listen to me now, _coward_." Jaw clenching, he fisted a hand into the man's tunic and lifted him bodily from the ground, his feet dangling a good foot off it. "You will give me those names and I'll give you over to a man who won't see you strung up for these townspeople to deal with." Turning the soldier so he could see the raging crowd, Conrart knew it was something he would not do. These men were not innocent, all of them had murdered in the name of King Belar, killing indiscriminately whether their victim be man, woman or child, just for a few extra gold pieces to line their pockets.

"Alright!" The man squealed like a stuck pig, wriggling and squirming in Conrart's hold, feet twitching back and forth as he continued to dangle and he spilled _everything_. Names and orders, dates... everything rushed from the man's lips so quickly it almost all blurred together.

With each passing word, Conrart's body stiffened with anger as he heard the facts of how they had gotten into the Great Demon Kingdom and 'found a traitor in the King's Personal Guard...one willing to sell them the King's travel plans. Betrayal and anguish cut him at the _betrayal_ of Keenan, a man that they all thought they could trust, who had fallen to the same kind of greed that these men had.

Cheers of victory surrounded him, but he heard none of it as he threw the man at Marcus's feet when the warrior came to stand beside him.

"My Lord?" He asked softly.

"He's willing to _talk_." Conrart's voice was a raw rasp as it escaped him. "Get what you can out of him." Before he turned and evaporated from the crowded square like a ghost, reeling from his discoveries and the traitor that had been so close to the King and no one had been the wiser.

* * *

><p><strong>Small Cimaron-Caloria Border<strong>

The horse nickered softly, the mount pulling restlessly at its reins, while he studied the slow moving caravan that stretched out along the smooth worn trail. Jaw gritting, his fingers clenching around the leather reins with a soft creak of protest from beneath his grip. The Small Cimaron soldiers' blue uniforms stood out starkly against the red tinged earth, like a blemish on the landscape. A large wagon rumbled along between the front ranks of soldiers, a large tarpaulin spread out across a object the shape of a wooden crate.

To Yuuri's senses, it was like a dark storm of tainted magic, which spewed up out of the back of the wagon, colouring invisibly everything around it. People... plants... animals... even the earth itself was being poisoned by the blackness that was trapped inside the innocent looking 'box'. His hunch about what Maxine had truly been after was proved right in that moment, the man had indeed been after Caloria's Forbidden Box.

The one thing that truly troubled him was the hundred prisoners that were linked together in one long line by lengths of rope. Each face was filthy and bruised from countless beatings, their eyes as haunted as Yuuri's soul. Lady Flynn let out a soft sound of distress, her green eyes widening with horror as she gazed out over their number.

"Adalbert." His head turned slightly to regard the massive warrior who stood beside his horse. "Suggestions?"

"A full out assault would be pointless." Adalbert rumbled, brows pressing together thoughtfully as he regarded the scene playing out before them. They were massively outnumbered, however, they did have _one_ advantage. Maxine's forces needed to not only protect the box, but also transport a large amount of prisoners who had all been foreign soldiers at one time or another. "Would the prisoners be willing to fight against their guards?"

Flynn lifted her head, surprised to find that the question was actually being directed at her rather than at Yuuri. "I..." Swallowing a little, she nodded once. "I think they might. They just need a little hope."

"And we need opportunity." Nudging the horse forwards to survey their surroundings, he tipped his head to the side slightly and gazed down over the vista from their vantage point on a high hill to one side of the trail, opposing the crashing ocean and the cliffs that plunged down towards it. "From the maps there seems to be a fort of some variety as the next watering point along this road."

"It is the last this side of the border." Considering the question, Adalbert studied the arid landscape that they were beginning to enter. "There are a number of caves in the surrounding hills around that particular fort, the lack of cover is an issue. A night assault is the most likely to succeed."

"Agreed."

Murata sat silently for a long moment. "A distraction would be best to keep Maxine occupied, for all of his looks, he is not a stupid individual."

"What do you suggest, Murata?"

"What was the reason they wanted the Wincott Poison from you, Lady Flynn?"

"They wanted it to control a certain person..." Her voice quieted and her expression paled noticeably. "I sold it to Big Cimaron."

"The Keys." Worry fluttered through Yuuri's gut at that, remembering the story that Geigen Huber had told him about how he had been forced near the box and the way it had attempted to take out his left eye, but instead had left a dark stain behind. It had left the man half blind. The King suddenly had a very bad thought... one that sent a cold jolt of fear through his gut. Gwendal Von Voltaire was a member of the same bloodline as Geigen Huber and it was reported that the Keys were passed down through a single family.

"Murata..." His voice was soft, his expression haunted. "Do you know about the Keys?"

A slow nod, Murata's lips pressed together tightly for a moment before releasing a weighted breath. "The Ends of the Earth, the key is the left eye. The Ends of the Wind, is the left arm. Hell's Fire in Frozenland, is the heart. The Bottom of the Mirror, is the blood of a certain individual."

Yuuri's jaw clenched with sudden realisation. "Gwendal's family are the Keys to the Ends of the Earth..."

"How did you reach that conclusion?" Adalbert asked.

"The Box wouldn't have reacted to anything but a Key... or something like the Key..." Shaking his head slightly, he considered it for a moment, lips pressing together in thought. "Its like how two similar keys can fit into the same lock, however, only one can unlock it because its just the right shape. Geigen Huber's eye was close enough... but not quite a perfect fit." Facing Adalbert, Yuuri's jaw clenched, knowing he would be going against his own decision when it came to the members of his family. He wanted them safe... "Adalbert... you need to send a message to Gwendal to warn him to protect his family."

"As you wish."

* * *

><p><strong>Big Cimaron<strong>

Blood dripped down the length of his jaw, staining his clothes crimson. The fluid ran down the length of his sword and pooled on the ground beneath the tip. His eyes moved across the fallen bodies of the men, taking in the lifeless expressions on each face as they stared sightlessly up at the ruddy heavens. In all his life, this was not what he had ever wanted. The bodies were those of men who were little more than boys, their faces revealed as they had fallen after they had refused to retreat. Yuuri had been like that, his face showing the hints of youth that had still clung to him at times.

Conrart Weller stared down at his hands and found that they were shaking so badly that the sword actually slipped from his grip. It fell to the ground with a heavy thump, joining the bodies that lay there, motionless, still in death as they hadn't been in life. Chest heaving, his palms lifting to eye level, showing him the bright stains that coloured the skin on both hands. Whole body trembling like a leaf caught in a windstorm, he stumbled backwards away from their corpses.

So many dead by his hands. So many lives pointlessly sacrificed.

Sheer terror struck him so hard and so quickly, he scrambled backwards, his boots striking hard against tree roots, unbalancing him, sending him sprawling down against a tree trunk. The world was painted the colour of blood, stained by the ruddy light of the setting sun. It washed over him like a hot molten tide, almost choking the air out of him.

"Yuuri." His beloved's name was a plea, his knees drawn up against his chest, desperate to stop the images that filled his mind and heart. Images of war, the cry of wounded men and women and the broken forms of children lying amongst the rubble of each town that had been torn apart by war. "..._Yuuri_..."

Air refused to fill his lungs, his throat choked off by the heat and smoke that blanketed him. The last sight his eyes had seen of his husband was the knife being wrenched from his beloved's body, the red stain spreading across the man's side as he staggered from the mortal blow.

The half-breed didn't even realise he was screaming, a heart-rending sound that tore through the forests around him, frightening birds from their perches and sending animals fleeing away in fright. The scream slowly became a roar of anguish, the lion within Conrart's skin raking at his insides with razor sharp claws, demanding to be let out. Scorching hot tears streamed down his cheeks, burning him all the way to the core, tugging at the edges of his sanity.

War had almost broken him, Yuuri's death had almost pushed him over the edge.

_Why?_

His body shook with the force of his grief, it was something that would never fade, something that wouldn't grow dimmer with the passage of time. Yuuri had been his everything, a part of his very soul.

_"My beloved Prince." _

_Fingertips stroked against his cheeks, brushing away the droplets that ran down his face, a soft mouth touching his. Warmth curled around him, drawing him in closer and into the security that only Yuuri's embrace could offer him. Hands smoothed back his hair, soft whispers filling his ears, chasing away the thousand voices that still screamed within his mind from a war that had taken so much from all of them. _

_"I love you, my Conrart." _

"Yuuri." His hand reached out for the shadow that hovered just before him, a presence so warm and vital that for a moment he almost felt like he could grasp what had escaped him. "Love..." The choked endearment almost shattered him again. He could see those dark eyes watching him with love glittering in their depths, a love only for him. For a brief moment, his fingertips brushed against one cheek and he could almost feel the warmth of the man's skin beneath his palm.

Yuuri was there, for heartbeat of time he could feel the man. It was a presence he thought he would never feel again, one that had magic flooding into him like warm water, filling in every crack and fracture within his wounded soul and putting him back together again. It _felt_ like Yuuri. He held onto it with both hands, willing to do anything to hold onto it, to keep a grasp of that precious feeling.

_A smile appeared on those silken lips, the faint taste of the Demon King lingering on his mouth where he had been kissed. "I'm right here. I will always be right here..." A hand pressed against Conrart's chest right over his heart. "With you, Love. I will always be with you, no matter what happens." _

"Stay." He breathed out, arms reaching out to that haunting phantom that shimmered and wavered right before his eyes. "Please... Stay with me... I... I need you." It was an admission. "I have never needed anyone like I need you. I am... empty without you..." He was the wind... blowing across the land, lingering only for a short time in each place... but Yuuri had caught him... catching the wind, but not smothering it. "_Stay_."

"Lord Weller?"

Conrart's head snapped up at the sound of Marcus's voice, the warmth that had filled him so completely evaporating within moments leaving him alone and cold once more. The fleeting feeling of Yuuri's presence darting away from him and back into the nothingness from which it had come to him.

"Yes?" Conrart rasped, forced himself to rise from where he had been crumpled back against the tree, one arm wiping across his face, brushing away the evidence of both his tears and blood onto the blue sleeve of his blue(x) tunic. Retrieving the sword, he brushed the blade across the grass, attempting to remove as much blood as possible from it before sliding it back into his sheath.

"Is everything...?"

"Everything is fine." His voice was firm and crisp, his broken soul being shoved back into his chest, where it sat cracked on the floor of his mind. He was like the broken mirror Yuuri had once had shattered before their wedding, fragmented and torn apart between the desire to avenge his beloved's death and to seek out the soul of his only love and allow himself to slide away from this world to forever be with the one he loved beyond all reason.

"The victory today in Beslan." Marcus said softly. "News of it has begun to spread already, there is so much support for us not only here in Big Cimaron, but also in Rassia and Ishmaeli to the south. What is left of their armies are willing to support our fight because of what you have done here today."

"I didn't do anything." Conrart responded softly.

"You gave us _hope_, my Lord. For all my strategic abilities, it was you who worked out their next target and allowed us to set up that ambush in Beslan without the enemy being aware."

"Marcus..."

"Stay with us, my Lord. Though you may not wish for the throne, even though you have all right to it. We _need_ you."

"I..."

"Lead us." Hands clasped Conrart's shoulders and squeezed firmly once, Marcus's gaze holding Conrart's silver one. "Lead us all the way to the Capital. Help us make Belar aware that we are not going to go away, that we are going to continue nipping at his heels until he realizes we will not stand for his brutality. We have to draw the line in the sand, _here_ and _now_. Our country was devastated by war because of his ambitions once, we will not allow him to do it to us again."

"I will do what I can." Was his only response.

* * *

><p><strong>Border Outpost, Small Cimaron<strong>

"Please do have a seat." Maxine looked quite pleased as he looked over the two captives that had been brought before him, his lips turning upwards into a rather satisfied smile at the fact that the young man standing beside Lady Flynn Gilbit had rich black hair framing a fsce that housed piercing black eyes. _Demon King._ Though it had not been this man that challenged him, there was no doubt in his mind about this man's identity. "I'm afraid I have nothing good to offer you, but please join me anyway."

Ken Murata's jaw clenching slightly, his shoulders straightening just a little more, being surprised by the fact that he didn't feel fear over this particular part of the plot. A spark of anger reared its ugly head in his gut over the fact that this man sat there like a King consuming only a tiny fraction of the elaborate meal seat out at the table before him, while the prisoners starved.

"What are you up to?" Lady Flynn demanded, her small hands clenching into fists at her sides.

"There's a fine hello." The human smirked, quite pleased to watch her try to contain her anger as he continued to eat without pause. He practically leered, mouth turning up into a cruel expression as his eyes wandered the length of her body. "What a waste of such a beautiful face."

Bristling, Flynn's small body shook with the force of her anger. "Don't mess with me."

"The messenger will arrive shortly sent from King Saralegi of Small Cimaron. I have decided to present you to our King aw an offering. So... I must treat you with _care_... until he arrives" It was clear he would take 'care' of her in ways that should never be allowed to happen to a prisoner.

"The King's messenger? What are you plotting?" Whatever it was... it would not be good. "Why are there soldiers out there? What use would you have for them?"

"I'm going to test it."

Murata's stomach dropped sharply in response to those words and dared to ask. "Test it on what?"

"Big Cimaron is not the only country that has uncovered a Box." One dark greasy brow lifted in silent question. "Which I assume you know, considering that my soldiers caught you snooping around. We now possess the Ends of the Earth and also... its _Key_." The human reached back and grasped the edge of the draped object that rested just behind him and tore it away from the crate sized Forbidden Box and a flash of gee glittered in Maxine's eyes as he watched them both recoil from the sight.

"That is a fake!" She attempted to protest...

"No." He rose to his feet, one hand resting on the lid of it as he stared at her. "This is the real thing, otherwise you would not have followed us all the way here, would you, Lady Flynn?" Dark amusement flared in his gaze, his fingertips stroking over the four thousand year old Box. "Why else would the Demon King be with you, other than to stop me?" One brow arched in question as his gaze swept over Murata's stoic features. "I will now test the Box and I think I might just invite those prisoners to assist me in this experiment."

"Do you realise the true consequences of what you are doing?" Ken stepped forwards slightly, only to feel the sharp tip of a spear touch against the exposed curve of his neck. "Do you understand that opening a single Forbidden Box can end the world?"

"Precisely my point for opening it." Pride and dark avarice glowed from within those eyes, the man moving to stand, gesturing for two of the guards to carry the Box outside. "We of Small Cimaron will gain the power to end the world. And one day we will rule it! Small Cimaron will take its rightful place in power and King Saralegi will command it all with me as his right hand."

"I will never permit such a thing to happen." Murata snapped, dark eyes flashing from behind his glasses, feeling his own fists curl tightly, nails biting into his palms.

"Interesting." Maxine growled out, eyes narrowing as they studied the face of the supposed 'Demon King'. "Then try to stop me. Though you are double-black Demon King you're on human land, your magical powers will not work here."

From behind Murata and Flynn a man appeared, head bowed, though his eyes flickered towards the faces of the two that stood before Maxine. A tiny hint of surprise flashed in his gaze and almost something a little like relief. Keenan straightened, head turning back towards Maxine, a bland expression slipping down over his features. "The messenger from King Saralegi will be arriving very shortly."

"Good, Keenan." He gestured for more guards to step forward and surround Murata and Flynn. "Let us go meet him, shall we?"

"As you command, Lord Maxine." And as the two passed by Flynn and Murata, Keenan stepped in close and pressed something into Murata's hand before the guards could notice.

Murata's fingers coiled around the object in surprise to find was a small note of some kind. One that he slipped into his pocket before anyone became the wiser as they were thrust forwards in the wake of the two men.

* * *

><p>"Here." Yuuri tossed another short blade to one of the freed prisoners. "Start on that back group."<p>

The Demon King worked quickly at each set of wooden stock cuffs, slicing expertly through the bindings so that they dropped away easily. Each freed man, moved towards the doorway, all of them realising that if they wanted to escape they would need surprise on their side. Adalbert was instructing several on the best places to take cover in the surrounding hills, knowing that it was their best chance for survival since Small Cimaron forces were reportedly moving closer towards the border.

"Sir."

Yuuri was surprised to find two men moving up to join him, each with small blades that they had taken from the few soldiers that Adalbert and Yuuri had taken out when they had dropped down through the roof into the crowded barn filled with prisoners, taking the unsuspecting guards completely by surprise. Nodding slightly in acknowledgement, he continued on with his task of freeing the prisoners, the two men falling in on either side of him.

"Sir... we wish to assist you." One spoke up, his brown hair framing a face that was oddly familiar to Yuuri, oceanic eyes looking at him with recognition glittering in them.

Pausing for just a moment, he tipped his head and regarded the man again for a long moment, recognition striking him. "Alford Mackinner... you look like him."

Surprised delight flashed on the man's face and he nodded immediately. "My older brother, Sire. He has spoken quite highly of you..."

"How did you end up here?"

"I... I joined our Country's army, unfortunately... Big Cimaron didn't take well to our resistance and I ended up with the rest of the prisoners being transported to Big Cimaron. I received word however on the ship that... my brother was spotted by Valentin," He indicated the darker skinned man beside him, "On the docks as we were leaving Caloria..."

Any ally was welcome, especially one like Alford Mackinner. He reached out one hand to curl around the man's forearm, grasping it firmly. "Your help is both appreciated and accepted...?"

"Alden Mackinner." The younger man offered, tipping his head towards his friend. "This is Valentin Nyle."

"Adalbert." Yuuri glanced back towards the large warrior as he stood behind him, his back straightening as the man came to crouch beside him as he finished cutting the last tie. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes. They are just waiting for your signal."

"Okay." Grinning at his friend, he squeezed the man's shoulder sharply, standing and gazing around at the faces surrounding him. "Let the wind be at your back." The Demon King offered the former prisoners a small smile and bow of his head before he was moving towards the rope that dangled from where they had come down through the roof between several displaced orange tiles. "Keep your heads down and follow the routes given to you."

No one questioned them, all those eyes focused on the King, seeing in him a man who knew his powers and authority, he could have left them, but he hadn't. Scaling, the rope, Adalbert, Valentin and Alden following behind him, they climbed quickly. When they were safely back on the roof the leaders of each group of prisoners lead their men out through the three doors breaking them down, the force of over a hundred men shattering the wood and spilling them out into the welcome, dark embrace of night.

Chaos exploded outside. Guards shouted in shock and surprise as they were confronted by freed prisoners who swarmed over them, taking many out in that first push, snatching up weapons from the fallen and heading for the surrounding hills and the protection of distant forests.

Yuuri watched as several of the torches that the soldiers had been carrying as they walked the perimeter of the buildings sputtered and died, like stars being extinguished.

From this vantage point they could see that the Box had been set out in a desolate, open area in the middle of a crater, and the party guarding Ken and the Lady were heading towards it. Now, though, they had a better chance at recovering it than they'd had before. Maxine was illuminated by torchlight, his visage one carved from menace and dark ambition.

Yuuri called to the dragon deep within himself, the creature beginning to slowly uncoil, lifting its head to the sky from within the King and gave a deafening roar of challenge.

* * *

><p><strong>The Royal Palace, Lambeil, Big Cimaron<strong>

King Belar sat broodingly upon his throne, fingertips rubbing across his jaw thoughtfully, in his other hand he idly swirled wine around in a bejewelled golden goblet. A slow smile began to creep up onto his lips as he began to slowly consider the problem at hand, his mind rapidly beginning to plot out things well in advance.

"It has come to my attention..." The King's head slowly turned in the direction of his newest commander, a man who had proven himself quite useful in repelling several rebel factions that had attempted to infiltrate Lambeil. As long as the man was controlled and not given a long leash, he was a good soldier and quick thinker- one that had shown his worth. "That a particular Demon Tribesman was responsible for the attack on our men in Caloria."

Lips pressing together, the human turned his head towards Gurrier Yozak, one brow slightly raised. "What would you say to a man that is described with the magic of a _dragon_?"

Yozak's back stiffened, his entire body stilling as if cold water had been poured over him. There was only one man in existence that could use the magic of a dragon, even Wolfram could never master such a technique as to incinerate a room but leave several individuals untouched by the heat of the deadly flames. Only one. A man that they had watched _die_.

"I see..." Belar's mouth turned into a bemused little smile. "So it is the Demon King."

The man remained still, wishing he knew quite what to say in response to Belar's announcement. "Yes, my Lord. The Demon King is known to have become possessed by the spirit of one of the creatures during his time in Schildkraut." Or so far as he had been told by one of the guards that had witnessed it. That guard had seen it first hand, the power of that creature that had completely consumed the body of the King for several long minutes.

"Interesting." The King lifted the goblet to his mouth, drinking down a little of its contents, peering over the top of it at the stoic man across from him. This was not the same man who had been dragged before him almost two weeks before. Gone was the laughing spy who had rather enjoyed cross-dressing and in his place stood a warrior who had faced the cold stark reality that waited for him and come out the other side.

Murder attempts by those placed under his own command had forced him to constantly watch his back, his position only secure as long as he remained useful to Belar. Their hatred of the fact that he had been placed in command of them when he was nothing more than a filthy half-breed, one that had been a member of the Demon Tribe. Traitors were traitors. No matter if they changed sides, no one truly trusted them. No one trusted him and so his value to his troops and those around him was as much as a pawn would be in a chess game. He could always be sacrificed.

A long wicked scar ran from above his left eye in a jagged pattern right down to his jaw line, tiny stitches having sealed the two sides of the long wound together. He had betrayed Conrart, betrayed the man he loved and known that long-wished for reality was nothing more than a broken and cracked dream that would never be his.

In the coldness of Lambeil, in the halls of King Belar's palace, he had stared into the mirror and hatred was what he had seen reflected there. He had been a coward, one who had lashed out at both Conrart and his own King. When he should have been loyal, he had been a traitor. When Conrart had needed him to stand at his back, he had not been there. A _fool_. A fool and a filthy coward. Gurrier Yozak had tried to hold onto Conrart and seen the pain in the man's face that he had caused with his own actions.

All he had left was his duty to Shinou. All he could do was slowly win Belar's trust and hopefully be able to locate the Forbidden Box that was within the man's possession. However, he had to be careful, a single faltering step and he would end up as the Sveleran Royals had, skewered to the walls of the city, their bodies as food for carrion birds. They had thought to match themselves up against Belar, demand money and aid in getting their former Kingdom back from their son, in exchange for a Box. Belar didn't take being dictated to well. They had been executed on the spot, their heads separated from their bodies... rolling away to rest at the foot of the throne's dais.

"Listen to me well, Gurrier Yozak." King Belar's expression suddenly lost all its amusement as he sat upright, his dark eyes narrowing on the half-breed before him. "You will recover Conrart Weller and bring me his left arm or it will be you who is presented for public execution during the Tournament."

"I understand, Sire." Bowed his head, he felt his stomach abruptly drop out from within him and sink to somewhere near his toes. "As you command."

"Torrod will go as your second." A hand waved idly towards a tall lumbering soldier who stepped out of the darkness to one side of the throne, the giant looked at Yozak like one would an insect that he would easily crush beneath his boot. "Remember Torrod, never underestimate our Commander there. A survivor of the Lutenberg Division is a rare thing."

The dark skinned warrior let out a grunt, eyes fixed on Yozak speculatively.

"You will not regret your trust in me, Sire." Yozak bowed, his shortly cropped amber locks tickling the backs of his ears for a moment, his grey-blue eyes regarding him.

"See that I do not." Belar dismissed them both with the wave a hand as he chuckled darkly to himself in something approaching glee.

And Yozak walked down the long carpeted runner towards the back doors, hearing the giant lumbering after him- a lethal menace and a silent reminder of just how long his leash actually was. Death walked behind him, a cold presence that stalked the halls of the palace as he walked through them. He knew that it was more than likely that he would not survive this mission. He would become another dead body slain for a cause, one he understood... but wished to question the motives of.

He would gather the boxes. He would protect Conrart. Maybe one day... he would be able to make up for all he had done, maybe he would be able to say the things that rested in his heart. Maybe... some day... Conrart would forgive his betrayal...

* * *

><p><strong>It will be a quicker post next time ^^ promise! <strong>


	31. Part 31: The Box

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I just needed my beta to work through my story to make sure everything was alright. THANKYOU KITELIZAKING my precious Beta who puts in so much effort on my behalf. I have already started part of the next chapter and hope that maybe I might get it up sometime tomorrow! **

**Disclaimer: I own Valentin and Alden. **

* * *

><p><strong>Border Outpost, Small Cimaron<strong>

"That is the strength of its power! The legendary power named the Ends of the Earth, will lead us to victory!" Maxine announced loudly to the soldiers gathered before him, his hands outstretched, preaching to them about the evils of Demon Tribe. "Nothing can stop us!"

_"Nothing?" _It was a cold sharp question, the darkness behind Maxine brightened as Yuuri moved forwards, his face sharp and grim as torchlight spilled across it. _"Are you so certain of your invincibility?"_

"You are no match for me, _boy_." Even though he had gotten the drop on him once, this youth was nothing more than a brat that had gotten in his way too often already. He would recognise the younger man from Caloria even if he was wearing a Small Cimaron uniform, those eyes were unmistakable. "We have your King." His hand waved towards Ken Murata, who stood stiffly off to one side, dark eyes glancing towards Yuuri Shibuya and a small smile curved the corners of his mouth in response. "Do not think you are strong enough to defeat me."

A low rumbling growl escaped Yuuri, a faint crimson shimmer beginning to rise upwards off his skin, obsidian eyes glimmering with two smouldering embers that were fixed on Maxine.

"Lord Maxine!" A guard stumbled out of the darkness on the other side of the soldiers, sliding down into the crater, dirt and blood were smeared across his clothing, his face bruised. "The prisoners! Sir... they escaped!"

"WHAT!" Maxine exploded, his dark eyes widening as they turned towards Yuuri and really stared at him, taking in the man's clothing and the fact that he wasn't _alone_.

Adalbert stood to one side of Yuuri, broad sword drawn from its sheath and held against his side, though the man's intense blue eyes widened sharply in shock at the sight of a familiar man standing beside Maxine. "**Keenan**." That one word spoke both death and hatred towards the man as he recognised as one of the men he had put in charge of protecting Yuuri during his 'honeymoon' while he was investigating things in Caloria.

"Captain." Keenan greeted softly, before he was offering a case out to Maxine. His face was passive, but there was regret in the man's eyes, a shadow of something haunting the faded irises.

"Very well." The human gritted out, anger flashing across his features as he tore off the opening to the long leather case he had been given. "I'll just have to test it out on _you_."

Yuuri was already moving forwards, Conrart's sword sliding free of his sheath when a flash of bright silver and gold caught the light and winked right before his eyes as Maxine lifted out an arm from within the case. Black fabric embroidered with silver thread, a hand calloused by decades wielding a sword... and a ring. He froze, like a deer caught in the headlights, his fingers turning white-knuckled on the hilt of his blade. It was Conrart's arm... and it was still wearing the matching wedding band to the one that hung from a leather cord beneath his clothes.

"..._Conrart_..."

A tear trailed down his cheek at the sight of that severed limb and the knowledge that it was all that remained of his beloved's body. An anguish so sharp sliced through him, like a sword to the gut, tearing in deep and slicing him right up the middle. He trembled forcefully, the breath sliding out of him raggedly. It felt as if someone was tearing his heart right out of him again, wrenching what remained up through his throat, burning it on the way out.

"That... is not the right Key." Murata murmured.

"NO! Don't open...!"

Maxine had already turned in those few moments where shock had frozen Yuuri in place, and the lid creaked open as the human lifted it upwards. The limb was placed inside without any more hesitation or finesse. The top of the Box closed with a heavy thunk of wood against wood, sealing their fate and jolting Yuuri from his horror.

For long moments, nothing happened.

A deep rumble of thunder rolled across the parched and barren landscape, brilliant flashes of lighting flaring across the sky in jagged arcs of white-blue. Soft whispers began to rise out of the Box, uncoiling like dark serpents from within it, slithering across the ground, invisible to most of those present, but real and solid to the Demon King and the Great Sage.

"If it throws the world into chaos, then its our destiny." Maxine's words were cold and harsh.

The man, for all his knowledge of the Boxes, didn't understand the full significance of what he had just done. The inky taint flowed like a hazy mist slowly up the length of Maxine's arms where he had touched the Box. Fat shadowy leeches feasted hungrily on his soul, clinging to his body and beginning to grow in size before a few heartbeats had even passed.

Suddenly a giant shiver tore through the earth, gaining speed and violence the closer to the surface it came. The earth was screaming out in anguish and pain so loud it almost deafened them all, responding to the elemental power that resided within the darkness imprisoned within the Forbidden Box. Horses reared, throwing their riders to the ground as they panicked and almost choked in the fouled air. The animals responded to the heavy malevolence that filled the air, spreading like a plague from the Box.

Dust rose like mist from the ground in large plumes, making several of the soldiers retreat in surprise and fear as dark clouds smothered the sky and moon overhead. The rising blackness was eating away at the light coming from the sputtering torches the men carried.

An unholy glow began to emanate from the Box. It manifested itself as a sickly wash of light across the inside of the crater, casting dark shadows across the steeply curving walls of it behind them. A macabre dance of ghoulish forms that were being given life by the evil residing in the hearts of the Small Cimaron soldiers. Black twisting coils of the Originator's powers were slowly becoming visible to every other living being, spiralling around and around the Box's illuminated shape.

_"Take them to safety." _The Demon King ordered, a hand sweeping out towards Murata and Flynn where they were still trapped between several soldiers._ "Leave this to me." _It was the last moment of true emotional clarity he had concerning those that mattered to him... before the dragon consumed him from the inside out.

And the men did as he ordered without question, Adalbert knowing that if they remained they would only be distracting Yuuri from the task at hand and the Demon King needed to have all of his focus on that box.

As the ground shattered beneath the feet of the fleeing Small Cimaron soldiers, Maxine and Keenan had moved to the relative safety of the crater's rim where the messenger sat amongst his guards, the man's expression haunted by what he was witnessing. Maxine smirked in clear enjoyment at the spectacle taking place before him.

"Is it safe?" The messenger questioned nervously, gazing down at the Forbidden Box with apprehension showing on his face.

"Of course." Maxine responded, straightening as he watched the young man who had confronted him stand there before the steps up to the Box, almost untouched by the powerful washes of dark magic that spilled across the bottom of the crater. "We have nothing to worry about this far away from the Box."

Suddenly the ground fragmented beneath the feet of the soldiers, breaking apart into a thousand different pieces that dipped and lifted with no pattern to their movements. Even the earth beneath Maxine abruptly split open and swallowing him up, cutting off his high pitched cry of shock and fear.

Darkness flowed like a tide across the ground, crashing against the shimmering wall of water that had risen around him, the clear liquid unfurling upwards into a bubble about his body. It was just like in the burning church, the choking waves of blackness attempting to suck him in, drag him down into it. Those same leeches attached themselves to the edges of his magical barriers, greedily trying to suck energy from it.

_I will guard your back, my King. _

And slowly the dragon uncoiled itself from within Yuuri, but this time it separated itself from the Demon King. The massive creature born of fire and ashes roared out its anger and rage, an inferno boiling out from its throat and spilling across the ground. The leeches shrieked as they sizzled, massive jaws tearing them apart as wings unfurled and spread wide, shielding Yuuri's body from the attacking creatures conjured up from the dark shadows of the soldiers. The men lay scattered across the earth like dolls abandoned by an angry child. It was like every other time he had felt the dragon as a part of himself, the creature having drawn enough strength from Yuuri over time to actually physically manifest on its own.

Yuuri, for the first time in months since he had first welcomed the dragon spirit into his soul, felt the surprising rush of greeting and welcome from his own natural element. As he stepped forwards, a jarring pain burned up along his side, his hand reaching down and he touched his bandaged wound. His fingers came back coated in blood, his long wound having re-opened during the night's activities. However, he dropped his hand, the Demon King reached out for the deep power of his element beneath his boots and called upon it.

A shimmering barrier slowly rippled into existence around him as he began to enfold the darkness within his power, breaking its connections to the earth. The ground began to calm under his gentle coaxing touch, his dark eyes closing as he held onto the small piece of calm that remained within him and helped to centre him.

Silence fell like a heavy blanket within the broken crater walls, while soldiers were slowly being lifted upwards from where they had fallen into the deep cracks that had been torn in the earth, buoyed up by Yuuri's power. They were sent rocketing up and out through the barrier and sent a distance away in a direction different from where the prisoners had been sent to hide. The only sounds that broke the quiet were the low snarls and hisses of flame and smoke as they coiled from the nostrils of the Dragon that guarded the Demon King against the oppressive darkness.

He wanted to tear that Box apart, burn away its evil until it was nothing but ashes... but knew he could not.

Slowly he moved up the steps of the dais where the Box sat, water magic spiralling around him, his own natural defences still in place. Water serpents whispered softly to him, when they began to emerge around his feet, sliding up along his limbs and attempting to offer him their strength.

Hands stretching out, his palms made contact with the corners of the lid of the Forbidden Box and a lightning jolt of pure agony flared up along his arms and through his body. A low snarl escaped him while he forced his hands to remain, fighting down the natural reaction to pull away. Electricity sparked and danced around his limbs in blue crackling arcs. Gritting his teeth, he refused to let go, the war between his own magic and that contained within the Box.

The skies overhead roiled, bright flashes of lightning literally tearing it apart, jumping from cloud to cloud. Thunder crashed, making the Demon King's ears ring from the closeness of it. Jagged bolts of power cut a path from sky to ground, smashing with a whip crack of violence against the outside of the barrier he had created. The liquid barrier absorbed the impact, steam rising upwards from each impact point as it was boiled away and replaced just as quickly.

With a burst of determined strength, he forced the lid of the Forbidden Box upwards, white lightning burning through every nerve he owned, as he did so. A howl of furious pain escaped him, the man no longer able to remain silent as he forced his injured body to continue on, despite his weakness.

Yuuri was dragging the darkness inwards, using the barrier to net himself every dark creature that had emerged from within the Box or had been created by it. Forcing the lid open, he threw all of his magic into the action, yanking every resisting beast from their victims and from where they had piled up, as broken, blackened corpses before his guardian's claws. With a rush of wind, they were sucked into the open Box, forced into it with one last push of his magic.

His hand reached into the Box, into that dark roiling mass compressed into its interior and his fingers curled around the forearm of his husband's severed limb and lifted it out. Sparks of hot fire burned through his blood, searing him from the inside out and forcing another scream from him as he staggered backwards, Conrart's arm firmly in his grip. It felt like there was acid in his veins, literally cauterising the wound in his side where blood had soaked into the blue fabric.

The world exploded with a brilliant rush of blinding light as the earth began to crumble beneath him, his awareness going with it as the lid of the Forbidden Box was slammed closed with one last blast of power from Yuuri. The Demon King tumbled head long into that blinding white light... and the waiting arms of dreams and memories as he cradled the arm tightly to his chest.

* * *

><p><strong>Borderlands, Big Cimaron<strong>

Battle raged around him, screams of pain and agony filling the cold mist laden air. Faces blurred together in the swirling clouds of rising fog. The only way to tell the difference between the two sides was the colour of their uniforms; the brown and burnished orange of the Big Cimaron army and the many other colours from the soldiers of smaller nations that had come together to fight back the invading force that had spilled across the border. They were intent on taking a key river point crossing, which would allow Big Cimaron to enter into territories that had little or no defence against the might of a militant, driven, nation like Big Cimaron.

It was like Lutenberg all over again. A nightmare becoming real and he was right in the centre of it, the commander of the opposing forces in this battle. He had become a symbol of hope to them, a name that they rallied to. _The Blue Wind._ A man who would take their battle all the way to Lambeil until the King himself realised that his own people were beginning to turn on him, infuriated by the unnecessary war, the heavy taxes and their children... husbands... brothers... being forced into the army to serve and die without ever seeing home again. Civil unrest was spreading like wildfire from town to town, growing in strength from its roots in Vandavia and, apparently, Caloria as well.

"Hold your positions!" Conrart shouted, scanning his surroundings and spying his troops amongst the thick pines that covered the slopes that led down towards the river. "Keep your lines!" Even though the fighting was fierce, they needed to keep up a steady formation or they might indeed end up with friendly deaths on their hands where people couldn't see who they were protecting.

Conrart's sword glinted crimson in the dull grey light of pre-dawn that covered the hills, the bite of winter chill nipping at his heels. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he slashed again at his opponent, cutting the man down and ending his suffering swiftly. Soldiers continued to pour out of the trees, ranks of them rising up the slope before them, confronting Conrart's men who held the last ridge of high ground.

Suddenly the world was filled with the sounds of thousands of birds giving cries of alarm as they flung themselves from their nests and into the sky, giving calls of warning to the other animals that had retreated into their dens and burrows to avoid the soldiers. The world seemed to tremble slightly, blurring for one long moment out of focus as a shockwave of power rushed through the forest, making the fog stream in long plumes around their bodies and as cold vapour against their cheeks.

Then the earth rippled and bucked like an unbroken horse between their feet, an earthquake striking the entire forest... maybe even the entire country with the force of power that had not been felt in a hundred... or even a thousand years. Men and horses were knocked to the ground as the waves rippled and broke over them, pounding them again and again with the black taint of what could only be described as feeling like pure evil.

It almost choked the air from Conrart's lungs, the only magically sensitive man amongst the troops. He could see the dark shadows swirling in the fog, attempting to take form, but unable to find the power yet to do so. A badly twisted knot formed in his stomach, a lead weight beginning to form just there.

_A Forbidden Box had been opened._ There was no other explanation for the dark power that shimmered in the air like a black haze overlaying the misty forest around him.

A dull ache had started in his left arm, a strange slight numbness beginning in his fingertips and travelling upwards to where the flesh of one of his ancestors had been fused to his own stump.

As abrupt as the earthquake had started, it began to slow...

And Conrart's entire body jolted as he was flooded with awareness, all the empty dark spaces that had been yawning wide in his soul were suddenly filled with a familiar magic that simmered in his blood, calling to him. He staggered, barely able to deflect the blow of one of the soldiers who had managed to gain his feet. His movements were slow, his entire body quivering with disbelief and a blaring spark of hope. His blade slashed across the man's chest, downing him and sending him tumbling back down the slope to disappear amongst the trees.

Knees buckling out from under him, Conrart went down hard, his sword dropping from his shaking hands and he reached up to press a trembling palm against his chest, feeling his heartbeat racing within. It was as if the concussive force of Yuuri's magic had knocked something loose inside of him, burning away several shadows that had infested his heart and soul, blinding him to the truth. A truth that had him on his hands and knees, shuddering and sobbing hard, tears scorching their way down his cheeks, dripping onto the ground and soaking into the needles beneath the powdery snow.

"_Yuuri_." He sobbed the man's name, his world shattering around him as his head spun rapidly. He was alive! Alive and out there somewhere without him. "Yuuri...!"

Conrart was unaware of what was happening around him. The world continuing to move around him, but he was blind to it, unseeing as he struggled to contain the joy and relief that poured into him as he wept. Yuuri hadn't been taken from him, he wasn't alone. After weeks... he could sense him again, a bright spark of knowledge that could unerringly guide him to his other half.

The dazed warrior didn't realise that someone towered over him, a giant who's sword was raised over his head, blade ready to come down straight through the unprotected length of Conrart's back and right through his heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Border Outpost, Small Cimaron<strong>

Awareness was slow in returning to Yuuri Shibuya Weller. His eyes were closed against of pain that burned up along his side, his skin feeling like it was on fire... every nerve shrieking at the horrible sensation that had rocketed through his veins. His shoulder throbbed, as his vision swam before him, before he realised he was clutching onto the edge of a precipice, his fingers clenching into the earth. His other hand was curled around Conrart's severed arm, he refused to let it go to save himself.

Attempting to pull himself upwards, a cascade of small pebbles pummelled him, the edge of the gaping chasm crumbling beneath his weight. Suddenly his grip slipped as it finally broke into fragments, _he was falling..._ abruptly his wrist was caught in a powerful grip and he was being hauled upwards with ease, his weight nothing to the tall man crouched on the edge of the yawning split in the earth.

"I have you, Yuuri." Adalbert gazed down at him with relief in his features, drawing the man upwards and into his arms as he sat down on the edge of the cliff. Holding Yuuri in both arms, he felt his King positively shaking with the force of his silent sobs. One hand rested on top of the King's head, smoothing down the tangled black locks that ran almost to the King's waist. It was almost amusing to note that it had grown with the extreme use of the King's power in combating what had been within the Forbidden Box.

Yuuri was shaking so hard as he cradled Conrart's arm against his chest, his entire body trembling all over. His fingertips stroked over that hand, so limp and cold, yet the calluses were familiar. The lingering scent of his husband on the jacket fabric giving him the first taste in weeks of his lover's presence, the first familiar thing to truly touch his heart. However, a fingertip touched lightly against the wedding ring that adorned the man's finger, the metal warming beneath his touch as he sagged into Adalbert's hold.

Curling his fingers around it, he slowly began to draw it off Conrart's finger, wiggling it a little so that it finally slipped free. Hand curling around it tightly, he lifted it upwards to press the smooth metal to his cheek. One fingertip traced the inner surface where tiny symbols had been etched. _Eternally yours. _He rubbed at his cheeks with the back of one hand, desperate to remove the burning tears that continued to streak down his jaw and drip down onto the arm he was cradling, soaking into the fabric.

Carefully he slipped it onto the leather cord that hung around his neck, the two rings clinking together, Conrart's larger one against his own. It was all he could do, fisting them in his palm and biting back the pain that was roaring up along his side as he became aware of the vicious burns that had run across his wound.

"Sire..."Adalbert whispered softly, his hand touching lightly against Yuuri's cheek, and just resting there. A worried expression ran across his features at just how burning hot Yuuri's skin was.

Tiny beads of sweat dotted his forehead and face, his chest heaving as everything crashed down upon him, consuming what energy he had left and leaving him as limp as a rung out sponge in Adalbert's arms. However, his fingers remained white-knuckled around the severed arm in his grip, refusing to even consider releasing it, holding it close protectively.

"BROTHER!"

Dark eyes blinked dazedly at the sound of a familiar voice, head twisting slightly from where it had dropped against Adalbert's shoulder. "Wolf...ram...?"

"_Brother_." The youth dropped to his knees beside Adalbert, reaching out to lightly touch a hand to the man's cheek, finding it so burning hot that it almost seared his fingers. "You're alive... you... really are alive." Relief sounded in his tone, green eyes softening as Wolfram studied the pallid sweaty features of the King. The boy's head twisted back and he was calling for someone who was approaching from off to one side of them.

Their voices sounded distant to his ears, sounds beginning to blur together as he felt hands touching him. However, the one thing he refused to do as he slowly drifted into a cool, welcoming darkness, was to released the desperate hold he had on Conrart's arm.

"**Yuuri!**"

And he heard nothing more.

* * *

><p><strong>Borderlands, Big Cimaron<strong>

An arrow slammed into the back of the giant, stunning him as he staggered under the force of its impact, whirling and lifting his sword in defence. However, he was not fast enough as a second bolt struck home deep in his chest, striking its mark. The powerful bear of a man crumpled like a fallen tree, thumping hard into the ground, his fading dark eyes staring accusingly at the cloaked figure perched high in the branches of one of the pines.

Gurrier Yozak leaned his shoulder hard against the trunk just beside him and stared down at the bow and third arrow that rested in his hands. He had done it as he had at the battle of Lutenberg, he had protected Conrart. His heart ached at the sight of the man on his knees, watching from his vantage point as deep sobs escaped his lips, sounds of relief and wonder. Conrart knew. There was nothing in this world that could elicit such a reaction from the man other than when it had something to do with the Demon King.

It was in that one moment that he knew... it was at an end. He could no longer hold onto that dream, hold onto Conrart with both hands. This man had stepped beyond him, moving ahead on that road to true happiness and Gurrier Yozak couldn't follow. He could only stare after his friend and know that he was missing something. The burning guilt still remained in his gut, that leaden weight that didn't seem to want to lift from him. _He had to let go._

Notching the next arrow into place, he lifted it to eye level and took down the next enemy that was determined to kill the downed Blue Wind. It was in that moment as he stood on the branch, defending his friend he felt some of that weight lift, some part of him being able to release his hold on a future that would never occur.

"I might not be by your side, Conrart, but I'm still here guarding your back." Gurrier Yozak breathed out, the words leaving him and giving him a renewed sense of purpose. A renewed sense of self. He could still keep the promise he had made to Dan Hiri Weller to protect his son.

Conrart seemed to become aware of the battle still raging around him, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword and he pushed himself upwards off his knees and launched himself forwards with a roar of sound escaping his throat.

There was new life in the half-breed, he fought like the lion he was, cutting his way through the enemy without flinching, protecting his soldiers until the Big Cimaron army was forced to retreat back into the mist swathed forest. It was a decisive victory, one that drew shouts of triumph from the human soldiers who had stood up against Big Cimaron and won.

As the men retreated, taking with them their dead, Yozak finally dropped from his perch to approach the giant who lay on his belly, his head turned towards the tree where Yozak had been perched. The amber haired half-breed dropped down to crouch beside his body, one hand reaching out to yank the arrows from his body, tucking them back into his quiver.

"You should learn that I'm not about to let anyone harm the Captain on my watch." His booted foot rested on the man's back, allowing him to pull the second one free from where he had struck him high in one large shoulder.

Yozak caught sight of his own reflection in the mirror like surface of an icy patch of earth, his face shadowed by the hood that was pulled up over his head. He almost didn't recognise the man that he saw there, the grey-blue eyes that revealed the deep changes that this had wrought in him. The scarred man there was not the same teasing spy... the man who could so easily joke about all that happened around him. He was not the cross-dressing spy who had so often teased Conrart Weller. Where Lutenberg had fundamentally changed Conrart Weller, this mission for Shinou had reshaped him.

His gloved hand lifted to lightly brush down over the long length of the scar that ran from temple to jaw, feeling where the skin had finally begun to fuse together. "I am no longer the shadow." He was no longer that lost little boy, filthy and starved who stood over the grave of his mother and gazed up at Dan Hiri and Conrart Weller, he was a warrior. No more regrets. No more second guessing himself. He had a mission for Shinou to recover the Boxes and keep Conrart out of harm's way... and to also to somehow bring Conrart and Yuuri back together.

He had thought to keep him safe in the palace, away from harm... away from the bitter truth of his own betrayal of the Great Demon Kingdom for the sake of his mission. In the end, he had been playing right into King Belar's hands, providing him with ready access to a Key to the Box that sat in his possession. It had been only through sheer luck that Conrart had escaped before Belar became aware that the man he held prisoner was Conrart _Weller_.

Eyes followed the line of Conrart's boot prints in the snow, he swallowed hard and bowed his head. "Safe journey, my friend." And he meant it, he felt his heart slowly begin to lighten just a little, releasing the wash of emotions out with each cleansing breath.

It was in this place that their journeys were finally beginning to split apart, their loyalties tearing the two friends apart without one even been truly aware of it. Yozak turned, glancing down at the body of the fallen giant who had almost been the death of his best friend and stepped past him without looking back. He had to keep Belar off his back, he needed to do something... anything to keep him occupied long enough for Conrart to finally find his way to safety.

And as Yozak vanished into the fog, he smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>Juniper Inn, Caloria<strong>

"Gisela."

The woman's green eyes closed in delight when powerful arms slowly began to slide around her waist, drawing her back into the warmth of the man's chest. Lips lightly touched against the side of her neck, lingering there and the man buried his face against the silkiness of her braided hair.

"How is he?" Adalbert couldn't help but feel a deep wash of concern run through his gut over the King's abrupt collapse, the man was extremely weak and a high fever was ravaging his entire body.

"Healing very slowly... that wound could have killed him." Worry sounded in her voice as she considered just how deep the blade had penetrated into the King's body, the nasty burns ran in a star shaped pattern where the blade had cut into the man's flesh, being twisted and drawn back out. "It is amazing he survived it..."

"He is a survivor." The blonde warrior agreed, feeling slender fingers lightly brushing over his forearm. "I..."

"He wouldn't let you send a message?" Gisela guessed, lips pressing together as she considered what she had seen of Yuuri before the man had collapsed in Adalbert's grip.

"No." Sighing, he shifted just slightly so that his voice was muffled a little by her hair, the sweet fragrance of it soothing his troubled soul and easing away some of the concern eating away at his heart over their King. "He wished for no one to know of his condition or... his plans." Arms tightening a little more around Gisela's body, he curved in around her, drawing strength just from her presence. He had missed her more than he could ever say, her presence and understanding a balm to his often troubled soul.

"Lady Flynn is with him as is Wolfram... they will stay with him until I check on him again in a few hours."

Shifting back from her, his fingertips traced the length of her braid downwards, before deftly drawing the tie from the base of it, watching as the beautiful strands began to unravel and spread out across her back. His large calloused hands stroked over the length, continuing to free it from the tight braid until every single strand was fanning out across her shoulders. Fisting it in his grip, he lifted it to his lips and brushed the silken mass against them.

"I've missed you... Gisela. It has been sheer torture being away from you for so long... I have craved nothing more than to have you in my arms again." One large palm brushed across her cheek softly, thumb caressing the shell of her ear as his mouth touched just beneath it, nuzzling and nipping teasingly at her skin. "I need you, my precious Flower, I need to forget for a little while..."

"Adal." Her soft hands touched his cheeks, drawing his head downwards as she turned, green eyes studying his face and leant up so that her mouth lightly brushed against his. It was a loving kiss, tender and sweet, speaking without words of all of the love she felt for him. Fingertips tenderly traced the lines of his weathered face, sliding into the short cropped blonde locks and deepening the kiss.

A soft moan escaped her when those large hands caressed down the length of her back and rested at her waist, tracing the edges of her clothing and slipped beneath the layers of fabric. Hot palms pressed against the small of her back beneath her shirt and tunic, calluses rubbing upwards, stroking and smoothing over the length of her spine. His movements were subtle, a slight shift and he had her moving backwards as he devoured her mouth, claiming every inch of it for himself.

The back of her knees bumped against the edge of their bed at the Inn they had found after the 'disaster' of the early morning. Even though it wasn't even close to noon, everyone was tired. Lifting her with ease, she was slipped onto the bed, his hands leaving her skin for only a few moments as he stripped with surprising ease. He was not self-conscious when it came to being with Gisela. His sword belt rested against the head of the bed, his boots thumping to the wooden floor, cloak, shirt and pants dropping on top of them.

Green orbs traced along every inch of his body, checking him for wounds or injury and relaxed when she found nothing at all wrong with him. Her hands lightly touched against the belt at her hips, but they were shooed away by his much larger ones, the man carefully beginning to undress her.

Adalbert took his time, tongue flickering lightly across her navel, before sliding upwards, tenderly brushing his lips over the underside of one breast as her shirt and tunic were draw upwards and thrown to join his on the floor. One large hand curled around one mound, thumb circling the hardened nipple and drawing a whimper from the back of her throat as she arched upwards as his mouth descended on it. One palm sliding down her side, it slipped beneath the edge of her pants and tugged downwards, the woman squirming to help him get her out of that and her other clothing.

Fingertips drawing tiny circles of her hipbone, he traced the length of her leg down to her calf, before the back of his fingernails stroked upwards along the creamy expanse of her inner knee and thigh. Two digits brushed against damp folds and his thumb applied the lightest pressure and she let out a heated moan, legs spreading to welcome his touch.

The bed dipped beneath his weight as he shifted forwards to straddle her body, the heat of his skin warming hers as their bodies brushed together and she became aware of the hot shaft pressing against her belly. A strangled cry escaped her as his teeth nipped at that nipple, teasing one and then the other, flicking his tongue over them as two long fingers pressed inside of her. Hips arching, she lifted both hands to grip his shoulders tightly, desperate to hold him close.

"Adal...!"

A low husky laugh escaped him as he drifted down her body, leaving tiny butterfly kisses across her skin in his wake. Spreading her legs wider to allow him greater access, his head to dipped between them , mouth finding her sweetspot unerringly and closing his lips around it. His fingers were beginning to work inside of her, curling and stretching her tight passage, caressing her from the inside out while his elbow rested across her hip, keeping her pinned as he tormented her.

Her head whipped back against the pillows, eyes wide as she convulsed abruptly under his skilled caresses, his name a cry from deep within her soul. A liquid rush spread from her core and he eagerly lapped it up, a third finger stretching her.

"I want to be inside you..." His voice was a hoarse growl against her most intimate parts. "I want to possess every part of you... have you until you know nothing other than my touch."

Withdrawing his fingers as he lifted his head, he was lifting her hips upwards to rest against his thighs as he was slowly beginning to slide himself into her with a hiss of pleasure at the tight slickness of her body. Her legs wrapped around his waist, drawing him in closer, his entire body shuddering with the need to claim her. Leaning forwards, he stretched out over her, propping himself up on his elbows while he began to move inside of her. His length stroked hard along her sweetspot, sending hot shivers racing up through her body.

Their bodies moved together in time a hand reaching down between them to continue to slowly stroke over her sweetspot, making Gisela arch and gasp out his name as her body clenched tightly down around him. Her arms wrapped around his back beneath his arms, her nails digging into his shoulder blades attempting to pull him even closer.

A shudder rippled through him at just how hot she was while he thrust deeper into her, angling her hips so that he could slide in as deeply as possible. Blue eyes closed as his forehead rested against her shoulder, his ragged breaths tickling her throat as he strained to bring them closer and closer to that completion their bodies craved.

Arching and shuddering as heat burned its way up along his spine and through his nerves, Adalbert lost track of his pace, thrusting hard and deep into her willing body. It was like nothing else he had ever experienced, hearing her cry out his name openly, unafraid if anyone heard. She clung to him, desperate to keep him with her. Gisela Von Christ eclipsed every other woman who had been in his life and he had almost been too blind to realise it.

As she reached climax, her passage clenching tight and holding him fast within her, he buried his face in her long silky locks. He spilled himself in her with a shout, Adalbert's voice muffled against her skin, collapsing across her body. The man practically blanketed her with hot warmth.

"Thank you." It was the softest of sighs, his arms sliding beneath her body and cradling her against him. Adalbert rolled onto his back, drawing her across his body and remaining buried deep within her as her knees fell on either side of his thighs. Fingers threading through the long cascade of verdant green locks, he smoothed the wavy mass as it pooled down along her back and tickled his sides.

Gisela blinked slightly at his words, lifting her head upwards from where it had been tucked in against his shoulder, kiss-bruised lips parting as she stared down into his handsome features. Worry creased her brows, while she watched a single tear trail down across his tanned cheekbone, her fingertips brushing it away quickly and observing him for a long moment.

"Thank you for not giving up on me." Tender hands lifted to stroke her hair back from her face and frame it as he lifted himself up a little on his elbows to press a warm kiss against her lips. "Thank you... for being you."

"Adal..." One of her hands lifted to cradle his much larger one against her cheek, nuzzling her face into it and staying there for several long moments without speaking.

"I love you, Gisela." His heart ached, knowing that there was no one else in this world that could ever quite replace her in his heart. For a long time he had thought Julia was the woman he was meant to be with... how _wrong_ he had been. "I love you more than I can ever say... or express."

Rubbing noses with the proud warrior who gifted her with moments like this, moments that let her see what truly rested in his heart, she brushed a tender kiss against his lips. "And I you, Adalbert Von Grantz." Settling down against his warm body, she let out a contented sigh when he drew the sheets up over them both but did not pull out of her body. Her head tucked itself beneath his chin as his strong arms coiled around her shoulders and back, one large rough palm stroking up and down along her spine. "I promise you... we'll work out some way to save him. No matter what it takes... we'll save the King together."

"I hope we can..." He breathed out, staring up at the ceiling as he held his beloved to his chest. "I hope so."

* * *

><p><strong>I thought you all deserved some action. However, it seems Adalbert and Gisela were the most appropriate choice for this chapter! LOOOL I hope you enjoyed it! Now onto writing! <strong>


	32. Part 32: Cause And Effect

**Author's Note: LOOKIE! Its another chapter! LOL Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but the ship and mentioned Ocs. **

* * *

><p><strong>Calorian Ship, <em>Yesteryear<em>, Calorian Waters**

The rocking motion lulled him for several long minutes as he slowly became aware of his surroundings, his dark eyes slowly beginning to open and he stared up at a wooden ceiling, one that seemed to sway back and forth in time with a soft whooshing roar from outside. He was on a ship, which could mean several things for him. Lifting his hand upwards, he rubbed his fingers across his eyes clearing his vision as he pushed himself upwards, wincing as he did so.

Sheets and blankets slid down his body, revealing the new scar that graced his side, his fingertips lightly touching the long star shaped burn that had sealed the stab wound shut. Hissing softly at just how tender the skin was there, he blinked again, finally being able to focus on the room around him. He was on a human vessel.

"How are you feeling?"

He was surprised by the question and turned to glance towards a rather worried looking Lady Flynn, her green eyes studying his face with concern. "A little sore, but I'll be well soon."

"It's been two days..." Her hands were clasped together in her lap, wringing themselves together as she struggled to contain all her emotions.

"I am sorry to have worried you." Slowly swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he forced himself upwards, though he swayed and she was already reaching for him... Yuuri stepped away, straightening on his own and not allowing anyone to consider helping him. "But it is not unusual for me to rest for an extended period of time after using large amounts of magic."

"Your wound..."

Shaking his head, he reached out one scarred hand and smoothed down her hair gently, it was affectionate, but the gesture was all he was willing to offer her. Before he could pull away, her fingers curled around his wrist, keeping him there and making him look down into her face again.

" Yuuri... I... I think I..."

"Flynn." One hand lightly touched under her chin and lifted her face just a touch higher so he could gaze into her eyes. "I can't be what you're looking for."

"But you..."

Sometimes Yuuri knew his compassion towards others, which was just a normal part of his nature, made people think things about him that would never be possible. "I'm sorry if you thought that. I never meant to make you think I had any intentions towards you. You are a beautiful woman, Lady Flynn Gilbit and you are someone who deserves to have happiness in her life again. Someone to love you." He grinned in amusement, reaching for that light hearted part of himself that had been buried for a very long time. "But I'm not the man for you. I'm quite... gay."

Her brows came together at the word, not quite certain of its meaning, her mouth opening and closing slightly.

"I am only interested in men and only one man has ever truly made me feel complete." His hand lifted to lightly touch over where the two rings still hung around his neck, the skin warmed metal resting over his heart. "There will never be another. I love Conrart Weller, even though he is lost to me. I will always continue to love him as much as I did when he was alive."

Flynn's face paled at that and she stared down at her hands which had dropped back into her lap as she sat by his bed. "I'm sorry... you just lost him and I'm..."

Shifting a touch uncomfortably, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders from behind, hugging her tightly for a long moment and just expressing the warmth he did feel towards her. "There is someone out there for you, Flynn. Someone who can be the man you need beside you to protect Caloria. I know it."

"How can you be so... forgiving? The promise I asked from you... I was so selfish..."

"No, you weren't selfish, ill-advised maybe. However, you weren't selfish, you were trying to find a way to protect Caloria. I can understand that."

"Are you really who they say you are...?" Her eyes wandered his face and then down across the length of his bare torso, a flush rising to her cheeks as she did so. "Are you really... the Demon King?"

"I am." Sighing, for the first time since he had washed onto that beach in Caloria with Ken Murata, he felt some mental clarity returning. "And I owe a lot of people explanations. Adalbert in particular..."

"They are very loyal to you." Flynn whispered softly, biting her lip and lifting her eyes to glance at him again, her face burning hot.

"And I am lucky to have them in my life." Though he knew his decisions would more than likely hurt those he cared about most. He could do this, he could collect the Boxes, they... "The Box...?"

"Is in the hold, Yuuri, Lord Murata saw to its safe transport and storage himself."

Relief filled him, knowing that Ken Murata, the Great Sage, would know exactly what to do with that particular object.

There was a sudden knock on the door and it creaked open and a grin split Yuuri's face at the sight of an old friend.

"Alford!" A genuine warmth spread through him at the sight of the human swordsman, his lips turning upwards into a broad smile and he couldn't hold back the sparks of happiness that touched his heart.

"Sire!" The man looked astonished to see the King up, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly at the warmth of the greeting, but he stepped forwards to accept the surprising hug that he was being pulled into. He returned it, before shifting back slightly and holding him at arm's length to look the King over. "You are looking well."

"As well as could be expected after going against a Forbidden Box." He let out a sigh before catching the way Alford was glancing towards Lady Flynn with interest and a very fine flush running across his cheekbones. It made Yuuri's smile remain on his lips, the young man finding a small measure of happiness amongst his friends. "Let me make introductions. Lady Flynn Gilbit, may I introduce Alford Mackinner, a good and dear friend. Alford, this is Lady Flynn, the current ruler of Caloria."

He stepped forwards almost shyly, the man obviously taken by Flynn, his oceanic orbs fixed attentively on her face. Carefully drawing her hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss against to its back as he bowed over it. "A pleasure to meet you, my Lady."

And with that Yuuri slipped silently out of the room with a small smile on his lips, leaving the two surprisingly flushed individuals quite alone together.

* * *

><p>Shrugging into a new shirt, he tucked it into the clean pair of pants he had been given. Thankfully, he had found his sword belt and Conrart's blade in the possession of Wolfram, who had been quiet and willing to allow him to dress in privacy. The clothing he used as King felt oddly welcome after so long, though his fingers tugged at the length of hair that spilled down his back, drawing it forwards to look. A soft chuckle escaped him, unable to help but muse about the fact that his extreme use of power had ended up making his hair grow ridiculously long.<p>

Blinking for a moment, he realised there was something in the pocket of his pants, his fingers slipped in and he drew out one of the simple silver clasps that Conrart had given him. How often had Conrart buried his hands in Yuuri's hair and commented how he liked it long... and then he knew he couldn't cut it. Holding the clasp between his teeth, he began to braid the length of it, weaving the long strands together before tying it off at the end.

Long strands still framed his face, tickling his cheeks, but he felt more like himself in that moment than he had in a long time. Everything seemed... surreal almost, as if Conrart would come around the corner at any moment with a smile and comment about something he had seen on the ship. The reality however was that his beloved never would do so again. He would never see that charming little smile quirk the corners of his husband's mouth... never see the fierce possessiveness and unrestrained passion lightening those cinnamon eyes to silver.

"Yuuri." Adalbert stood in the hall, his intense blue eyes softening at the sight of the King, relief filling his expression for just a moment. "It is good to see you up, Sire."

"I'm sorry."

Surprise flashed through the blonde warrior's expression, clearly confused by the apology.

"I've been putting you through a lot since Caloria... I asked quite a bit of you in not informing the Great Demon Kingdom about my health or my plans." Rubbing a hand lightly across his face, he reached out to rest one hand against Adalbert's broad shoulder, squeezing once as he moved past him. "I will still be going to Big Cimaron. There is another Box out there... and I can't leave it in the hands of a man like Belar."

"Let us attend to this for you." Adalbert's words were soft, but determined, stopping Yuuri in his tracks. "Return to the Great Demon Kingdom, return home... please. We..." The man's fist clenched slightly, surprised by the force of his own emotions. "I do not want to lose you, Sire. You are infinitely precious to us and your people." Jaw clenching slightly, he admitted to the feelings that were rattling around within his chest. "You are the reason I'm still alive, Sire. I know that the way I was going I would have eventually ended up dead on some roadside... a victim of my own bitter hatred and arrogance. You... you reached out to me when you had no reason to bother with a... a traitor. You welcomed me without reservation, you placed your trust in me and gave me a chance to be with the woman who finally brought me peace."

"You are responsible for your own change, Adalbert Von Grantz, I've barely done anything... I..."

"You are _wrong_." The man spun, his body practically filling the hallway as he gazed at the back of the man who had given him a second chance at life. "You. _YOU_... have made us all better people. Von Voltaire, Von Christ, Geigen Huber... even that spoiled brat Wolfram. So many people have been changed because you saw something in each of us that we couldn't see ourselves and gave us the opportunity to change. You gave Conrart Weller a real smile."

Yuuri stiffened at the mention of his husband. "I promised Shinou himself that I would retrieve each of the Boxes and return them to the Great Demon Kingdom. That is my purpose right now. After I have completed that... I will be seeking Conrart's soul... and joining him wherever he may be."

"You..."

"I'm not as strong as you think. I can't be without him, Adalbert. It is _torture_. Every minute... every hour that I am not with him... I die a little more inside. I love him... he's the reason I agreed to be Demon King when I returned from Earth the second time. I promised that I would make the world one that he could live in without fear of persecution or hatred. He... isn't _here_. I told him... he would never be alone again... but he is... somewhere out there... he's alone." Though the death of Yozak had cut him deeply as well, the loss of Conrart was a blow he would never recover from.

"Do not leave us, Sire."

And he could not answer that desperate plea from a man who had become like family to him, so he walked away from Adalbert, away from a man that had become a friend, and left him standing in the corridor, alone.

* * *

><p>Standing by the railing of the ship, Yuuri Shibuya Weller looked out at the dark coastline, blinking as a wash of bright light spilled across his face and shoulders, before passing out onto the water again. The lighthouse that stood at the entrance to Gillum's harbour, welcomed them with its bright beacon of light. However, as the beam of light swept across the waves, it spilled across the distant shore, for a brief moment illuminating the broken remains of the port, and the shattered dock warehouses and homes.<p>

Horror burned a hole in his soul, knowing that it had been his hesitation when the Box had been opened that led to this happening. "No... not here..." As the ship entered the harbour, Yuuri's fingers clenched around the railing, his knuckles going white, eyes studying the damaged shoreline as they slowly approached towards it. "_No..."_

* * *

><p><strong>Gillum, Caloria<strong>

"Gisela gather what supplies you can to set up a first aid station in the dockland square. Murata, Alden, collect all the food from the ships stores, I don't care what it is..." Yuuri continued to give out orders, not pausing for a moment as he was beginning to direct even Caloria's soldiers that had turned up at the harbor to greet them. No one hesitated once given instructions, knowing that people needed to be tended to quickly after such a disaster and the length of time they had spent trapped in the rubble of the broken shorefront.

Yuuri stood on the shores of a foreign country and felt his heart ache like it had in Svelera for those innocent victims around him. There was no doubt in his mind that he would do all he could to see that Caloria was rebuilt, that these people would be protected from the retaliation of either Small Cimaron or Big Cimaron.

His magic was still at its lowest ebb, his reserves as exhausted as was he, but he didn't let that prevent him from doing all he could for the people. It gave him purpose again, seeing the needs of these people and being reminded of his own nation, a nation that he did miss with all of his heart.

Hours seemed to speed by as people were pulled from the broken houses, and tents were set up. The wounded were brought to Gisela... Flynn, with her new protector in the form of Alford Mackinner, was dishing out food to the starving citizens of Gillum.

Yuuri sat in the healer's tent, one hand lightly resting against a child's head, smoothing back the fine locks and allowing trickles of healing magic to flow out of him, even as he managed to replenish himself from the ocean nearby. The terrible head wound that had come when a falling beam had struck the child was already beginning to close, the dangerous brain swelling beginning to subside under his care.

From his vantage point he could look out over the newly set up camp that was slowly beginning to settle in for the night... people resting by the two dozen fires that dotted the space. Guilt ate at him, guilt that he couldn't do more than this. Even with all the magical powers he possessed, there was a limit to what he could do.

It was a relief to know that it was only the areas near the docks that had been affected and that the damage had been localised. However, the problem remained that a lot of supplies had been destroyed during the earthquake when the warehouses had been flooded by broken water lines, and in small fires that had been set off when candles and torches had fallen amongst the wood and stone buildings.

A pair of wide brown eyes stared at him from between the flaps of the tent, a tiny face appearing a moment later, the little girl curling her fingers into her dress.

"Hello Sweetheart." He whispered softly, watching the little girl's wide eyes stop on him and her lower lip trembled the moment she saw his gentle expression. "Come here." Yuuri Weller offered softly, his free arm stretching out and gesturing for her to come to him.

Suddenly he found his lap filled with the tiny body of the trembling child, her hands fisting into his shirt, face pressing in against his neck. His strong arm curled around her shoulders and drew her in closer, cradling her there and smoothing down the silky brown locks that curled in waves down her back.

"Is it going to... come back?" Her voice was muffled against his shoulder, her small face pressing in even closer, just holding onto him and finding comfort in his embrace. She had seen the man helping all the others and knew that maybe he, unlike the others, would be able to answer her.

"Pardon...?"

"The ground... will it... start shaking here again?"

"Never again." He promised her, drawing the little girl close against his body, feeling her little arms coil around his neck and hug him tightly. Drawing a blanket from nearby, he wrapped it around her as he rocked her against him, feeling her slowly relax in his arms and be soothed by his presence. "I promise it will never happen again. You will never need to fear that darkness as long as I live."

"Your Majesty..." It was Dacauscas that spoke up, when he appeared at the entrance to the tent. "We're about to run out of medical supplies..."

Lady Flynn appeared behind him, Alford not far from her side, his hand lightly resting against the small of her back in silent reassurance. "There aren't enough provisions, either."

"Gisela said that the others will be arriving within a few hours. She received a message when we landed in Caloria that they would be joining her." Smoothing the wounded child's hair back one last time, he rose to his feet, carrying the little girl in his arms wrapped in a blanket. "We will have enough supplies soon to see that all of these people are well looked after.

* * *

><p><strong>Small Cimaron<strong>

_Caloria_.

Conrart Weller sat astride the back of the exhausted Cimaron mount. The horse's sides heaved with the exertions that it had been forced to make for hours on end, the rider unable to stop or slow down for even a moment to rest or eat. From his vantage point on one of the mountain sides that overlooked the coastline he could see the distant forests of Caloria to the south, another day or two's full ride and he would be there.

Marcus had understood his need to leave as quickly as possible. Conrart had supplied them with the necessary victories to really start making Belar take notice of the rebellion, to make sure they were not so easily dismissed by him. He had slipped away during the early hours of morning, after most had fallen into an exhausted sleep after the celebrations for their hard-won victory. The revelry had filled the streets of several towns that had been just across the river crossing from that last, bloody battlefield amongst the pines.

_Yuuri_

The closer he got, the brighter his beloved's presence became within his soul. There was no way to express the joy he felt radiating through every part of him at the knowledge that Yuuri was still alive and in this world. But, as happy as he was...as ecstatic as his whole being was that the man he loved was still alive, one question still remained... one that haunted him:

_How could it have been that he had not sensed Yuuri before?_

It couldn't have been the distance- Yuuri was always a clear presence in his senses, like a bright star guiding him home. The question had torn at his mind as he'd ridden hard and fast toward the beacon that was his Demon King's power, and as furiously as Conrart had worried at it from all possible angles, only one answer came to him... one that shook the foundations of a lifetime's belief and prayer.

Shinou.

And as he continued on his journey, the answer he had come up with haunted him to the core of his being.

* * *

><p><strong>Gillum, Caloria<strong>

"Oh your Highness!" A rather familiar form practically flew towards Yuuri, tears filling the air as the royal aide looked practically ready to fling himself upon the man. "Thank goodness you are unharmed! Majesty! Majesty!"

Adalbert however, swiftly stepped before the King, blocking the usual overly-exuberant welcome with a sharp stare and a scowl that immediately slowed Gunter in his tracks. "Control yourself, Lord Von Christ." The harsh warning had Gunter coming to a complete stop before he got to Yuuri, the aide looking up with frustrated lavender eyes at the giant of a man preventing him from falling upon his King.

"Brother." It was Gwendal who appeared next down the gangway off the ship, his long charcoal grey locks swept back from a deeply troubled and concerned face. Dark intense blue eyes contained all the deeper emotions that were not being allowed to play across his face. "You..."

Yuuri's hand lightly touched against the back of Adalbert's shoulder in reassurance, squeezing it after a moment before stepping to the side of the blonde giant. In the light of the torches that the soldiers carried, the two men were able to see the devastating change that only a few scant weeks had made in their King. There was no longer any of the boyishness left in those pallid features, the innocence that he had held onto through everything had been stripped away. He looked older than his twenty years, his features had matured into the sharp, striking features of the Demon King.

Gunter and Gwendal could only stare at him, shocked by the changes, and by the lifelessness of those obsidian eyes that gazed back at them.

"I'm sorry to have worried you both." Bowing his head slightly, he straightened, his chin lifting and his lips turning upwards into a small shadowed smile. He reached out to lightly touch Gwendal's broad chest, letting out a soft sigh and admitted to himself that it was good to see the man again. "I am glad to see that you are safe, Gwendal."

"Brother..." Gwendal didn't know what to say, unable to find the right words to offer some kind of comfort to their King, knowing that Yuuri had lost far more than Gwendal had when Conrart had died. For as much as he had loved his brother, Yuuri had adored Conrart on a far deeper level than anyone else.

"There will be times for explanations afterwards." Yuuri straightened as he gazed at the number of ships that rested offshore. He wouldn't be surprised if Gwendal told him that the entire Great Demon Kingdom Navy sat out there in Calorian waters, anchored off the coast. "These people need supplies and provisions, unload all that we can spare from each of the ships."

"Again?" Gwendal actually didn't looked troubled by the request, but frankly a little amused, his expression softening as he gazed at the Demon King having long since become accustom to such orders. They had done so before in both Schildkraut and also to a larger extent in Conansia Svelera and both had recovered wonderfully under the skilled hands of not only the Demon King but the many other people from the Great Demon Kingdom.

Instead of resistance to the change, many people had welcomed it, the scent of stagnation beginning to lift from not only Demon Tribe industry but also trade. Generosity also came back in kind with their borders becoming far more secure with the treaties made with Cavalcade and Svelera, and even Zorashia after they had learned of their Duchess and the young Princess recovering in the court of the Demon King.

Gunter however gave the King a more sceptical look over this particular issue. "It was the humans themselves who opened the Box."

A surge of guilt burned through Yuuri at that, his fingers curling into fists and his head turning away. "I could have prevented it. I... I should have..." But the shock of seeing Conrart's arm... it had left him vulnerable and frozen. "It is because of my failure that these people have lost their homes and businesses."

"Are you sure the people of this country really are willing to accept your aide?"

"Even if they may not accept our help..." Swallowing hard, he forced himself to meet Gunter's lavender gaze firmly. "We can _still_ leave them the supplies."

With that he turned away, gesturing for the soldiers that surrounded them to begin unloading the ships without further delay. These people needed help and needed it _now_, his pride be damned. Guilt however, was something he could not escape and it still gnawed away at him, undermining a significant part of his confidence, but he held on and refused to allow himself to give into it.

Yuuri Shibuya Weller led the soldiers and his companions through the streets of the broken city, the faint light of near dawn colouring the world with a few touches of indigo and violet, the deep blue of night slowly beginning to fade.

Several soldiers carried the banner of the Great Demon Kingdom, something that Yuuri didn't think was necessary, but considering his presence and the fact that he was king... he had to make allowances. He desperately hoped that all would turn out well, that the people of Caloria would be willing to look beyond several thousand years of prejudice and see them for what they truly were. People who only wanted to help in this time of need.

Yuuri didn't announce their presence, seeing on the faces of those they encountered at the entrance to the square the fear and apprehension on the faces of the humans there. It burned him right down to his core that they could so easily reject him based only on the fact that he was Demon Tribe.

"The emblem of the Great Demon Kingdom...!" An old man recoiled, staring at the fluttering banner that hovered over their heads.

"Why is the Demon Tribe here in such large numbers?"

"Caloria really _is_ doomed!"

"**Never** say that." Yuuri's voice silenced them as swiftly as an explosion would, stunning them all and they backed away a step. "Caloria is _not_ doomed, it will never die if you hold the ideals of your country close to your hearts. This..." His hands swept around him to indicate the broken down buildings and the basic camp that they had set up for the survivors. "This may be damaged, it may take time to repair... but it will be done."

"Under your rule!" One older gentleman yelled from the safety of the back of the crowd.

"No." His eyes settled on Lady Flynn where she had squeezed herself through the crowd and into the space between Yuuri and the deeply troubled people. "This country belongs to you, you already have a fine leader in Lady Flynn Gilbit." Hand reaching out to settle on her slender shoulder, he squeezed it.

"They are not the enemy!" Flynn cried.

"What do you mean? You can see who they are! They are the evil and vicious Demon Tribe!"

"Have I hurt you, Sir?" Yuuri stepped forwards into the light of one of the nearby fires, his face clearly visible to the people who had seen him work just as hard as any of them throughout the long night. "Have I laid a finger on any here in malice or with evil intent? I have wished only to help you. I wish to stand beside Caloria in her time of need and offer our strength to you in order for you to become stronger. We have aided Conansia Svelera when a drought ravished their nation."

"...Demon King..."

Shock rippled through the crowd when someone finally got a better look at him, his obsidian eyes glittering like two dark stones in his face, long raven braid resting over one shoulder.

The little girl who had come to him before appeared from amongst the people, the blanket wrapped around her slender little body, big brown eyes staring up at him with anxiety in their depths. "Is it true... you belong to Demon Tribe?"

"Yes."

Her face lit up with a brilliant smile and she flung herself forwards, wrapping both arms around him as he dipped to easily scoop her up into his embrace again, cradling her close. "I'm not scared of you at all! I love you! Thank you. Thank you!"

Holding the child close to him, he remembered the times he had held Greta like this when she had come to him in need of comfort. His cheek rested against the top of her head as he continued to cradle her close. "Thank you, little one." He whispered in response.

"Why don't we graciously accept the help of the Demon Tribe? They wish only to help us. Haven't they already proved themselves tonight to you?" Lady Flynn's hands indicated Gisela and Adalbert, the pair standing to one side of the Demon King, Adalbert's arm wrapped protectively around Gisela's waist.

"If you put it that way..."

Yuuri nodded to the soldiers, turning around with the little girl still in his arms and began to give out orders, already knowing where the supplies were needed most. A smile rose to his lips as he tipped his head at Flynn, before continuing on with tending to the broken lands of Caloria, while Flynn tended to its people.

* * *

><p>"Brother..." Gwendal's tone was gentle as he stood behind Yuuri, watching the King as he cleaned himself up with a sponge and basin of water. His gaze lingered on the star-shaped scar that covered his right side just underneath his ribs, the skin around it looking red and raw.<p>

"I can't go back, Gwendal." Yuuri's head tipped upwards to gaze into the mirror and meet the gaze of the man hovering in the dark expanse of the room behind him. Sighing, he rubbed the sponge over his dirt streaked face, washing away a lot with that one motion.

_Trust_. It was a thing that at times was hard for Yuuri to give others. He was not a naive child who trusted in everyone around him, he knew that many of his thoughts and some of what he had done... Turning his head and gazing into the troubled blue eyes of his brother-in-law, he made a decision, one that just might change everything for him.

And so, Yuuri started from the beginning, explaining about things as far back as when they had been in Conansia Svelera, about his thoughts about the Box. From his talk with Geigen Huber, his discovery of exactly what Shinou had been doing, the manipulating, the plotting... to the promise he had made when he had confronted Shinou in his temple and actually seen the spirit of the Great One.

He spoke about Conrart's death, his mission to gather the Boxes... and the cold hard reality that with each passing day a part of him was dying inside, that his world was crumbling around him and he could do nothing to stop it. He talked about Ken Murata and the fact that the man was the Great Sage.

Yuuri kept talking, spilling the words out as they formed, talking to Gwendal as he only ever had done to Conrart, and at times Adalbert. His worries for Gwendal and the man's family's safety when it came to them being the Key to the Forbidden Box now in their possession. Also his guilt over the Box... and Conrart's death. During all of that Gwendal remained silent, listening to each word as it tumbled out of the Demon King and into the space between them, filling it to bursting.

Yuuri almost jumped out of his skin when strong arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him into a warm reassuring embrace, the usually stoic Tribesman offering Yuuri the comfort that he needed. He didn't cry, Yuuri couldn't seem to find the tears anymore, just the aching, gnawing sorrow that nipped after him relentlessly.

"I understand." Gwendal rumbled, tightening his grip, cradling the smaller man close and feeling a warmth spill into his heart that the man would be willing to trust him with so much. Yuuri Shibuya Weller was a private man, even though he was so open with so many, there were still many secrets to him, and to be trusted as he had just been was an honour and a privilege. "I will... support your decision to go to Big Cimaron, I may not agree with your reasons... but I will agree to this and convince Gunter on the merits of you leading this particular expedition."

"Look after my people." His hand lightly rested against Gwendal's arm, lightly brushing his fingertips across the back of it and just letting himself feel a few moments of comfort in the warm embrace, needing it far more than he would admit to. "Please, Gwendal. My largest regret is that I am not with them... that I... that I'm being so selfish... but..."

"You are not being selfish." They had asked much of their Demon King and he had done so much for them, it was about time that they supported him. However, the emotional state that the man was in deeply worried Gwendal, and he hoped that maybe... just maybe they would be able to keep Yuuri from that edge. Conrart would never want Yuuri to follow him like that... "Conrart's arm..."

Yuuri swallowed hard around the lump that had formed in his throat... as much as he wanted to hold onto a part of Conrart... it needed to be destroyed. "Do what you must to make it unusable as a Key. I will not allow my husband's arm to be used to create such destruction. I... I need rest."

Gwendal finally released Yuuri and nodded once as their gazes met in the mirror. "As you wish, Sire."

"Thankyou, Gwendal."

"You are loved, Little Brother." Large hands lightly brushed against his shoulders for a moment, before he bowed his head slightly and turned away. "Remember that."

"And you, are family to me, Brother. Thank you... for coming to find me."

* * *

><p><strong>Small Cimaron<strong>

He was surrounded. His tired senses practically burned with the realisation, as he lifted his head upwards from where he had been crouched by a stream, getting a little fresh water into his empty stomach and allowing his horse to rest. The animal's ears lifted and flickered, trying to catch the soft sound of people moving through brush all around them. They were like wolves, slowly encircling them, prowling ever closer as they became bolder with each passing second.

Hand reaching down, he slowly slipped his blade free as he shifted in closer to the horse's side, knowing that it was doubtful the horse would be able to outrun the fresh ones that his ambushers likely had. He had pushed the horse too hard for too long, wearing the creature out. It had been his first mistake in the many he had made in his haste to get to Yuuri.

"Put your sword down." A man said from behind Conrart. "And you won't be killed."

The warrior stiffened as he got a better sense of the numbers he was facing. At least a good dozen or more. However, it wasn't the numbers that troubled him, but the slowly growing sickness that was beginning to spread through his organs. These men were smarter than the average gang of thieves and robbers looking for money. They were carrying esoteric stones in surprising quantities, enough that it was making his body a react a touch more sluggishly, adding to the exhaustion he was already experiencing.

A low warning growl escaped him, his silver eyes burned vividly bright as his head lifted, the colour practically glowing in the dull light of early dawn. "Do not be foolish." His words were a deadly promise that any who decided to attack him would be fair game for his sword.

"What threat can you pose? One man against us all." One scoffed from Conrart's left, lips peeling back into a disgusting smirk that revealed stained and rotting teeth.

"You idiot. This is that _warrior_."

"He doesn't look like much." The filthy vagabond grunted with a disdainful look over Conrart's dirty clothes and pallid complexion.

"I heard them say, he was the Lion of Lutenberg." Another whispered. "He's..."

"The Lion of Lutenberg? This runt is barely old enough to have left his mother's tit."

And that was when Conrart slapped the palm of his left hand painfully hard against the flank of his mount, making the exhausted stallion rear up, forelegs lashing out with deadly hooves, knocking down one man as the creature bolted and allowed Conrart to charge his startled enemies.

Conrart fought like the warrior he was, ploughing through his enemies with a razor sharp blade and a determination that had half of them dead or dying on the ground before they were even truly aware that he was amongst them, cutting them down swiftly one by one as they tried to bring him to his knees... He was the Lion of Lutenberg... He let out a deafening roar of challenge to those opponents that were stupid enough to continue to pursue him.

However, when the first net struck him full across one shoulder and side, the weighted ends looped around his body. He let out a hiss of pain as several esoteric stones that had been laced into the weave pressed against his skin. His blade slashed through it quickly, but his body was shuddering from the close contact, hypersensitive as it was after prolonged massive exposure in the dungeons of King Belar's palace.

Two more bandits fell to his blade, leaving only four left of the original dozen. Their blood seeped from their wounds and mingled with the clear water of the stream as it swirled down along its bed.

Splashing through the knee deep water, he was heading towards where he could hear the men's horses nickering softly between the trees. He pushed forwards, forcing his exhausted body to go on.

A second net struck him from behind, coiling around his body and looping around his legs, a third was cast over him, driving him downwards into the water. His body squirming and struggling, his wrist twisting at a painful angle within the coils of the robe and wire meshing, the esoteric stones surrounding him, stealing the very air from his lungs.

A bellow of rage escaped him when he recognised one of the men who appeared from amongst the trees on horseback. Conrart bared his teeth in a low, almost feral snarl, straining hard against his bonds as his muscles spasmed and he was unable to keep his grip on his sword. It slipped from his grip and slid between the twisted lengths of the nets into the water.

"_You_." Conrart's silvery eyes narrowed sharply on the one human, ignoring the wounded that were calling weakly for help on the banks where they had been attempting to wound him and bring him down.

"Yes. Fitting, isn't it?" The man smirked, his lips turning upwards at the corners. Gerard Bemis had been one of the men under Marcus Brahms, or had been until he had been caught stealing from his fellow soldiers and sent from camp. "You deprived me of a source of income... so now you will become one instead!"

"**Coward**."

"I might be, but I'm a smart coward. I know that sometimes you need to wait for the right opportunities to be able to get exactly what you want." The human was rather pleased with himself, clearly not about to prevent any of his remaining men and those that had hung back with him from approaching the trapped half-breed. "Do you know how much you are worth, Blue Wind? Do you know just how much King Belar himself will pay for bringing you back alive?"

"I know exactly what he will pay you with." Conrart bared his teeth in a predator's smile. "And it won't be gold... more like cold steel."

"Do not think to mock me again!" The man shouted in response, anger turning his face ruddy and making veins pulse across his forehead visibly. "You will regret ever thinking you could cross me."

And that was when the first kick landed hard against Conrart's ribs, knocking the air right out of him. All he could do was keep in his pain as the men began to beat him with clubs and heavy boots while he was entangled in the tightly wound netting. The men grunted their eagerness as they worked him over, all the while ignoring the cries of their companions as they lay dying on the muddy banks around them.

And red stained the waters as it flowed downstream.

* * *

><p><strong>Gillum, Caloria<strong>

Yuuri awoke with a jolt, Conrart's name on his lips as he sat up amongst rumpled and knotted sheets, his hand coming up to curl around the pair of rings that rested against his sternum. His entire body trembled with the force of the nightmare he had been awoken from, his world seeming to spin around wildly, consuming him from the inside out. "_Conrart_..." He could still his lover's voice echoing through his thoughts, a presence that began to fade as quickly as it had appeared.

It was as if a blanket had been lifted from where it had covered his senses and allowed him to glimpse something beyond the dark veil. However, as he rubbed his fingers over his face, the sense of his beloved's presence vanished all together, leaving him alone again with the dull ache of loss, and nothing but the sound of his husband's screams as he had died amongst the flaming balls of ignited gas of those Big Cimaron cannons.

Air refused to enter his starving lungs as the dry shuddering sobs overtook him for one long moment, his knees drawing up against his chest as he sat there. His cheek rested on top of them, hugging them close and rocking himself in an attempt to sooth the fierce aching in his soul. Death lurked at the edges of his thoughts, a new constant shadow that offered him the peace that life couldn't, every step he took forwards, it seemed to inch just a little closer. It was hungry... its clawed hands stretching out towards him... .

Dawn's soft, early light spilled in through a gap in the curtains covering the windows off to one side of his bed, blinding him for a moment, burning away the last of the nightmare. The small house that he had been allowed to use was quiet as the sun broke over the horizon to the east over the mountains. The light was dim, its greyness showing that he had slept no more than two or three hours... The way his heart was racing... he didn't think he would find sleep again for a very long time.

All he could do was curl there, in that too-empty bed and try to find the last traces of Conrart that still lingered within his heart and soul... but finding once again, nothing there.

* * *

><p><strong>So close... yet so far. I AM EVIL... I know. But trust me two more chapters ^^ and Yuuri WILL see Conrart! <strong>


	33. Part 33: Revelations

**Author's Note: This chapter is a little dedication to my love of MurataXYozak and also a vital part of the next few chapters since it helps tie everything together. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing. **

* * *

><p><strong>East Nilson, Big Cimaron<strong>

As his back slammed up against the wall, Ken Murata felt the air whoosh audibly out of his lungs and his entire body shuddered as he felt filthy hands sliding across his chest and down along his sides in an attempt to find any coins he might be carrying. A razor sharp blade pressed against his throat, the cold metal slicking into his skin and drawing a thin trickle of rich red blood to the surface. He wanted to fight. He wanted to have the strength to lash out at his attackers, but knew the moment he moved he would be slit from ear to ear without a second thought. Thugs like this had no qualms about ending a life.

It was his own stupidity that had gotten him here. His own self-confidence, and in some ways... his arrogance. He had wanted to learn more about the city. Learn more, in case that extra knowledge might just give them an edge the following day. This sharp lesson in reality had knocked that eagerness right out of him, making him fully aware of just how fragile his life truly was. His existence had been practically endless; lifetime after lifetime lived knowing of a past that no one understood. A stranger in a strange land. A man truly alone in the flow of time, despite all those around him that knew who and what he was. But there would be no other 'Ken Murata', there was only one of him, and death would reduce him to another old movie in the back of another's mind sometime in the future.

No one would truly mourn his death. He had pushed them all away; his human parents, friends... anyone who had ever begun to care for him. Yuuri might care for him... however it was not the same... The sickening reality was that... he had never loved anyone. Not during all those years he had spent beside Shinou, or in any of the lifetimes since. When he had thought, desperately hoped that someone might love him, he had trusted that last part of himself to them, speaking the truth of who and what he was. Pity. Anger. Horror. All the responses had been harsh, sharp reminders that he wasn't good enough... none had remained... all had quickly abandoned him.

Fetid breath rushed across his face, shocking him back to this reality. The giant thug of a man in front of him dipped his face down to almost press his nose squarely against Ken's, beady brown eyes staring at him with new interest. "You're a _pretty_ one." Fingers stroked against his smooth jaw, leaving smears of dirt behind on the white of his skin.

A jolt of fear screamed up along his spine, his body jerking at those words and at the touches that were getting far too familiar with his body. Far more familiar than this body had ever known before. This time he did fight, feet lashing out against the legs of his attacker, slamming hard into knees and shins, but it barely phased the giant who slammed him back so hard against the stone wall behind him that his head thumped against it with a sickening crack.

Stars exploded across Ken Murata's vision, the dark alleyway blurring out of focus as he felt a second pair of hands touching across his belly and sliding downwards, caressing his hips and thighs tugging at his pants. He continued to fight, trying to lash out at the two men that were soon being joined by others who had heard the commotion and clearly were quite willing to join in a little bit of 'fun'.

The blade sliced deeper into his throat, drawing a long line of blood that trickled down to stain the collar of his white shirt beneath his dark thick jacket. A large hand caught his slender wrists and pinned them over his head as the buttons of his jacket and shirt were literally torn free, popping as the loops pulled tight around them and they scattered into the dirty snow beneath his feet.

He couldn't scream. Ken could barely breathe as he felt hands on his skin, cold and clammy, sliding and pinching. A shudder of revulsion shot up his spine, the man trying to retreat back into his own skin, to escape the touches.

_Please_. It was a silent plea, one that he sent up to the heavens, knowing he wouldn't get an answer. _Please... not like this._

Suddenly a white shape flashed before his eyes, brilliant golden-amber glimmering in the faint light that spilled into the dark gritty space between the two stone buildings. The weight that had been pinning him to a wall abruptly lifted as a man slammed bodily into the giant holding him, knocking him away and onto the filthy alley floor.

The knife clattered to the rubbish strewn ground as Ken sank down against the wall, his entire body shaking with the force of what had just happened. His arms wrapped around himself, knees drawn up to his chest as he tried to press back away from where a fight was raging only a few feet away from him. Each of his attackers had been brought down with the swiftness of a predator downing its prey, fists slamming home into flesh and finally sending the gang of thugs fleeing out into the street and vanishing into the gloom of the nightime city.

Dark eyes managed to finally lift upwards, staring up at the strikingly handsome man who stood panting a few steps away from where he had crumpled, long white uniform jacket spotted with blood, as was the paleness of his skin that almost glowed in the light that spilled down from one of the windows overhead. He was dressed as a Big Cimaron commander, the white, yellow and brown highly visible against the browns of the stone wall behind him. Yet...

Ken knew that this man was not just human, he could feel the faint traces of magic that still clung to his skin, like a warm aura that always clung to those with half-Demon Tribe parentage. His heart was still racing, every part of him trembling with the force of the assault that had taken place on him only moments before.

The man turned, his stormy blue eyes focusing just on him, pinning him in place. "Are you hurt?"

Swallowing hard, he opened his mouth and no sound came out. Arms hugging his knees a little more tightly, his entire body shuddered. Even though he had experienced such things before in those old memories... it was nothing like this. Nothing like the raw fear that spilled through his heart and soul, chasing out any courage he might have shown to his rescuer. The cold chill of the night and the ice covered ground was seeping into his flesh and bones, beginning to numb him to everything.

The man was quickly at his side, dropping to his knees in the snow beside him, a hand reaching out to gently slip fingers beneath his chin in order to lift his head to look into his face. The half-breed's hand jerked back the moment he felt the dampness that was slowly sliding down from the long slice that had begun to clot around Ken's throat.

"Damn!" The man was pulling out a handkerchief from a pocket, carefully sliding one hand into the silky shortness of Ken's hair, cupping his skull and cradling it firmly before slipping the other around to press the fabric against the wound, soaking up the spilt blood. "Look at me..." Those blue eyes came back into his field of vision, concern evident in every line of the man's face.

Ken forced himself to meet that gaze as his mind began to drift away, shock setting in rapidly, numbing him to everything.

"I promise you will be okay."

He fought that greyness that was edging across his vision, his lips parting to say something... anything... His heart twisting in his chest to see such concern, such worry in those grey-blue eyes that watched him. No one had ever truly looked at him like that, seeing _him_... "..._Stay_..."

"I won't leave you." The man promised, strong arms slipping beneath his body, lifting him upwards and against a warm solid chest, his head bumping against one broad shoulder. "I've got you... just hold on."

* * *

><p><strong>The Ox's Horn Inn,<strong> **East Nilson, Big Cimaron**

Yozak's fingertips slowly brushed down over one pale cheek, unable to help the odd flutter of something in the pit of his stomach. Seeing the dark bruises on that pale skin, the clotting wound that had been cut across his throat, he wanted nothing more than to have taken his sword to those men rather than his fists.

Fine dark lashes framed a surprisingly delicate upswept eyes. The high cheekbones and elegant features of the man definitely didn't belong in a place like East Nilson. There was something almost familiar about his face, something that tickled the back of Gurrier Yozak's memories. _Beautiful_. It was a description he had never used before for a man. He had always preferred those like Conrart, broad shouldered, strong... but there was something about this man that called to him.

Dark eyes fluttered open, gazing up at him with eyes that he could describe as black, but glinted with a hint of chocolate brown and tiny flecks of honey. They blinked once, before focusing on his face, relief passing across the delicate features and the young man sagged back into the sheets of Yozak's bed here in the Inn, where he'd taken a bed until he could begin his journey back to Lambeil in the morning .

"Rest easy." His hand lightly touched against one slender shoulder, his palm touching against bare skin as he had removed the wet, destroyed, shirt and jacket, setting them aside. The tension in the slender body dissolved at his words, those eyes following him as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "You're safe."

"Where..." A soft groan escaped Ken Murata as he lifted a hand to lightly touch the back of his head, feeling the sensitive spots that had formed on the back of his skull where it had impacted the wall so forcefully. "What... happened?"

"You were attacked, I brought you back here." Yozak pressed his lips together and hesitated, wanting nothing more than to touch the man's cheek again, give him some kind of comfort after what had happened. "Your clothing was soaked, and I thought it best to remove some of your damp clothing.. I don't have much to offer, but you are free to use my spare clothing until yours dries..."

A shiver ran though the younger man as he gazed towards where his torn and filthy clothing was sitting near the fire, stained by his blood and the filth of that alleyway. A trickle of fear and apprehension bubbled up inside his gut, a fine tremble beginning in his hands and soon his entire body was shaking with the depth of the terror he had experienced.

A lone tear streaked down his cheek, his dark eyes staring into that worried set of stormy grey-blue, and a rough sob escaped his throat.

"I... I was... so scared." Voice shaking, he could barely get out the words. He had never felt fear like that, not at any point in his lifetime, the realisation that he could die so easily... that he had almost been raped. "I..." Several more tears slid quickly down his cheeks, burning across his jaw.

Large calloused hands curled tenderly around his chin and cheeks, thumbs stroking lightly to brush away the tears. The hold steadied the young man, holding him still amongst the raging storm of his own emotions. "It is alright to be scared." One hand shifted to brush back the dyed brown locks, sweeping them off the younger man's forehead softly and away from those wide eyes.

"But fear..." Fear was one of the things that had created the Originators in the first place, fear was something that had dominated so much of his long existence. Fear was the cold thing that slithered around inside of his soul and gut, feeding off of him slowly, eating away what remained of his current self if he let it.

"It _is_ alright."

"But..."

A soft laugh escaped Yozak, it was the first genuine feeling of humour he had had since the fire in the Great Demon Kingdom. It was a warm bubble spreading out through his bones and body. "Fear is just a warning to your mind to be careful. Its a reminder that you are still alive."

The younger man couldn't help but feel a slight smile attempt to tug at the corners of his mouth, attempting to draw him out of the dark void he had fallen into. "What's your name...?" He ventured to ask, surprised by his own momentary shyness.

"Gurrier."

The man hesitated for a moment before answering. "Kenta." Not even Yuuri knew that his 'real' name was actually Kenta Murata, he had always considered it slightly childish and had wanted to sound a little more manly. Yet, in that moment, for one second with that warm hand brushing against the underside of his jaw, cradling his head tenderly and not letting him look away, he wanted to be honest with someone.

"Kenta." The warrior tasted the name, before offering its owner a warm smile. "Now what were you doing out there on your own? This town is not one for... civilians."

"Snooping."

Yozak felt another rush of laughter spill out of him at that straight forward answer, the sound surprising even him with its light-heartedness. "A man after my own heart."

"I seemed to have failed quite miserably though..." He leaned into the touch, shifting just a little closer, his knee brushing against the man's hip as Ken shifted forwards. Those big calloused palms were so warm, the soft caresses so welcome that he couldn't pull away even if he wanted to. "I wanted to be of some use to a friend of mine. I seem only to... weigh him down." He had always thought Yuuri would lean on him, that he could be more than just dead weight to the new Demon King.

"I've lived my entire life knowing that I was meant to stand beside him... but..." A hoarse, bitter laugh escaped him and almost covered the silent sob, his eyes closing against the wash of painful heartache that caught him so off-guard. "I've been replaced... I am not necessary. I feel as if I am merely... a burden to them all. A burden to my family... to those I know... what use am I?" His dark lashes clung together, tears rising to the surface and for the first time he allowed them to truly spill over. "What... can I possibly give to anyone...?"

Gurrier Yozak stared at this man, those words resounding loudly in his heart and soul, resonating with his own thoughts of two weeks before when he had finally left Conrart, knowing that dream... that desire had been for naught. This beautiful being was just as lost, just as lonely as he was, clinging to the edges of the world other people existed so easily within.

"You're important to me." Gurrier said the words before realising he had even thought them. "You... _you_ needed me."

Ken blinked in surprise at that, lips parting but nothing came out.

"No one has ever truly _needed_ me before. I..." A soft sigh escaped him, both arms slowly curling around slender shoulders, drawing the trembling man to him and cradling him close, feeling the warmth of him. "I liked the feeling." His lips touched softly against the man's temple, lingering there and just tightening his embrace, hoping that Kenta wouldn't pull away. "I've felt the exact same thing... I thought... I thought I was what someone I loved needed. Yet, I realised all I was doing was hurting him and those important to him. I was selfish and greedy. Wanting something that wasn't mine... and I emotionally hurt people to try and get it, when I should have supported them."

Ken's fingers fisted into the shirt of that uniform, clenching it tightly in his grip, not wanting to let go, not wanting to allow this moment to end. "Don't leave me."

"Shhh..." Yozak gently drew the smaller man into his lap, smoothing back the soft silky locks away from that beautiful face and just holding him, rocking him slowly and relishing every moment of it.

"I know things..." It spilled out of him, that horrible, terrible truth that had always made everyone run from him. "I can see it in my mind... so many life times of experience... so much knowledge... I've been other people... I remember being other people..." He was babbling but he couldn't stop, words were tumbling out of him one over the other. "Sometimes I wake up... and I can't remember who I am... I can't remember... my own name... my family... those I care about..."

Yozak had seen this before. He could still remember Yuuri's reactions... the moments where the Demon King himself had forgotten he was Yuuri Shibuya and not... Suzanna Julia Von Wincott. It was only now that he could understand the full impact of what it could be like on a person. If Yuuri remembered just one life... what would it be like to remember a dozen? Or more? He felt a rush of protectiveness overtake him, his arms tucking Kenta against his body, believing him completely. The younger man was shaking... trembling so hard his teeth were rattling.

"Everyone I've ever loved... has thought me mad... or..."

"**I** believe you."

Ken Murata jolted as if he had been struck, his face turning upwards and he stared into Gurrier's grey-blue eyes and what he saw there made him clench his hands even more tightly into the man's uniform. "You... really do."

"Yes."

"You're so beautiful." Gurrier whispered, a thumb lightly brushing over Kenta's lower lip, feeling the tip of a tongue brush against the pad of it and he groaned softly in response. He wanted this, wanted the man who understood something that had so deeply affected him. "So very... beautiful."

"Me?"

His head dipped, pressing his lips against the younger man's pulse point and allowing his tongue to flicker against where his pulse thundered just beneath the warm skin. "Let me... for just tonight..." It was all he had... all he could have of this warmth of feeling arms slide around his shoulders hesitantly and pull him closer. "Let me make you forget everything else and just know... my touch." The last was whispered into Kenta's ear, which Gurrier nuzzled and nipped lightly, before slowly dropping butterfly kisses across one cheek.

The kiss was sweet at first, a meeting of mouths that brushed together tentatively, learning each other slowly. It deepened, heating into something that was sparking into a blaze within both men. Yozak's hand slipped into his hair, cradling his head, practically devouring him, delighting in the way the man responded to his touch.

Ken pulled back slightly, heat flushing across his cheeks as he realised that he had shifted in the man's lap, his legs resting on either side of Gurrier's and that now he could feel the man's physical reaction to him. Kenta Murata had never even considered _this_. He had never considered touching a man as he had seen Yuuri do before. There were times in his many lifetimes where he'd had relations with men, but like all of his memories they belonged to someone else... they belonged to a man who died over a thousand years ago.

"I... trust you." The words were whispered, but they were heart-felt. "I've never..."

Amber-gold brows lifted at that. Yozak paused, the gleam of a question coming into his eyes. But his lips continued to brush soft kisses along Kenta's jaw softly, tongue flicking out to taste the corners of the man's mouth. "Never...?" He asked, the single word asking a larger question.

"With a man."

Two fingers slowly stroked down the length of Ken's spine, caressing slowly, watching the man shudder in response, though he stopped his fingertips stopped at the waistband of the smaller man's pants. One palm spread out across the small of Ken's back, strong fingers massaging the tightly coiled muscles beneath the warm skin and slowly began to help relax them.

"Guri."

A smile came to Yozak's lips at the nickname, no one had ever called him that before, to everyone he had been 'Yozak' and rarely 'Gurrier'. No one had ever given him something like that, something that was intimate. "You know... I don't mind you calling me that. I kinda like it."

Hands were slowly stroking over every inch of Ken Murata's body, learning each curve and each muscle definition, taking his time as he was slowly beginning to ease the smaller man back onto the bed. His lips didn't stop brushing over the man's face and throat, avoiding the fresh wound that he had bandaged and cleaned earlier.

A soft shuddering breath escaped Kenta, his eyes closing for a moment as he felt the warmth of the other man spread out across him, hovering over him. Inhaling deeply, he was surprised to find his nose full of the rich scent of spice and... something uniquely Gurrier's. A soft groan escaped him in response, tentatively he reached out to brush his fingers against broad shoulders, feeling the smoothness of the fabric beneath his touch.

"Just relax." Gurrier coaxed, mouth pressing just over the man's heart, feeling the wild beat of it just beneath the surface. Slowly, his mouth brushed sideways and across to a nipple, his tongue flicking out to lick over the hardening but and felt Kenta jerk in response. Nibbling at it tenderly, he reached up with his other hand to caress the other one, thumb tracing deliberate circles over the hardening bud keeping the man distracted.

Free hand sliding down across his belly, his fingers touched against the man's belt, sliding the end of the belt free of the metal buckle. Easing the buttons open, it allowed him to carefully slide the last piece of clothing from that slender body trapped beneath his own.

The younger man arched when something hot closed around the tip of his length, his hips jerked off the bedding and his eyes stared down at the man who was crouched between his thighs. Lips slowly slid down over it, swallowing him whole as teeth scraped lightly over the sensitive flesh. Panting softly, Ken forced himself to curl both hands into the blankets beneath him, holding on for dear life as one warm palm cradled his balls lightly, stroking over them gently.

Gurrier delighted in the slightly salty taste of the man's flesh, enjoying the way the man responded so quickly to his touch, body jerking, making the sweetest little noises that made his own body harden even more fiercely where he was trapped within his pants. His free hand was still stroking over those tight nipples, pinching and teasing them until they were bright red and aching from his caresses.

"Oh... God... _Guri_...!" A shudder ran up from the tips of Ken's toes all the way up to his head, as that mouth had curled around the head of his length, the suction so intense that white stars of pleasure were fluttering across his vision. _He couldn't_...

A sudden shout of the man's name escaped his lips as he came hard into that waiting mouth, slumping backwards as he watched Gurrier swallow what he had spilled into his mouth. Pleasure spiralled out through every nerve in his body, and he trembled from head to toe again before finally dropping limply onto the sheets, panting hard. Ken looked down, a whimpering moan slipping out as that mouth lifted from him, revealing he was still hard and aching for more.

Strong hands were stroking over his body again, his mind a haze of bliss, before he was being rolled onto his hands and knees, a rather intimate position, but not a single sound of protest escaped him. Kenta Murata admitted right then and there that nothing had ever felt quite as good as the slightly rough stroke of those large palms over his skin, the gentle whispers brushing across his senses.

His cheek rested against his arm as he braced himself, legs spread. Something hot and slick stroked across his entrance, the sensation making him jolt out of the pleasurable stupor he had been in. And he glanced back over one shoulder to gaze at where his lover was touching him intimately with his mouth. Dark eyes met those stormy blue ones, and Gurrier lifted his head a little to press a kiss lightly to the small of his back, nuzzling him with a smile.

"Just relax." The man breathed out, before continuing to slowly tease that entrance, tongue slowly slipping out to slide into Ken's trembling body, the tip flicking across that sweetspot inside of him. Hands resting on those spread thighs, he held him there, preventing him from shifting away from where he was making him slick and ready for him. Hot air tickled over damp skin as he whispered soft words to him, gentle reassurances.

The moment Ken relaxed, Gurrier shifted for a moment from behind him, stripping off quickly, groaning as he freed himself from his pants, one hand brushing against the raging erection that his beautiful lover had gotten from him.

"I want you inside me." Those dark soulful eyes glanced back towards Gurrier over one shoulder, their gazes meeting for one blistering second. "I feel empty without you..." One hand reached back, fingers spread towards his lover, a silent plea to have him come closer. "Please... I need you."

Yozak's heart lurched at the sight, at the outstretched hand reaching for him. Those words were something he had longed to hear for so long.

He was shifting up behind his lover, stretching out his larger frame along the man's back, one hand curling around the back of Kenta's, their fingers entwined. His other hand curled around the base of that hot damp length and began to stroke as he shifted his hips and the tip of his length pressed against that newly stretched entrance.

Kenta gasped when he felt the pressure against his most sensitive place and spread his legs a little more, back arching as he forced himself to relax. It was a long slow slide, one that stretched muscles that had never been used like that before. He couldn't control the way his body bucked back sharply when the tip of that length brushed against his sweetspot, setting his body alight. His fingers squeezed around Gurrier's as the man began to thrust into him slowly, driving himself deeper into his willing body with each movement.

Gurrier allowed his cheek to rest against the nape of his lover's neck, pressing his lips to the warm skin there and leaving a soft kiss behind. Their bodies moved together in an intimate dance, skin against skin, their breathing a ragged mix of sounds in the otherwise silent room. That passage was so tight around him, squeezing him, attempting to keep him deep within his lover.

"_Guri_." It was a plea, hips were squirming beneath his own, rocking back insistently now that he had managed to push all the way into his lover, hitting all those sensitive places within. "...Please..."

Continuing the slow thrusts, he hardened the movements, shifting the angle so that with each long slide, his entire length created a delicious friction against his lover's sweetspot. His fingers curled even more tightly around the length he was stroking, thumb circling the reddened head, nail teasing the slit and the few droplets forming there.

It was a dance of bodies, both of them coiled together, trembling with the force of their mutual need for each other.

Kenta exploded first with a cry of his lover's name on his lips, hips arching back sharply, spilling himself across his lover's fingers. He came again when he felt his lover spill himself for the first time inside of him. It was a hot liquid rush, burning him from the inside out and claiming him in a way no one else ever had.

He willingly allowed the other man to roll him, still impaled, onto his back, the thrusts this time harder and deeper, making every part of him arch in response, his limbs wrapping tightly around that powerful body. Pulling the man's head down, his mouth found Gurrier's, devouring it hungrily, needing to feel the heat of this man over every inch of his skin, the friction of their damp flesh sliding together.

Their eyes met during those fierce moments of joining, something passing between them that was left unspoken... an acknowledgement that never again would they share something like this with another. Nothing...no one else...could compare.

Kenta's fingers curled into silky amber-gold locks the colour of morning sunshine, and drew the man's head down again, their noses touching teasingly. "Only you." His lips brushed a soft line along the scar that ran from jaw to temple. "I swear. _Only you_." And only Gurrier would ever make him feel like this again, wanted... needed... and understood.

"I am home... when I am with you." And it was true, when those arms coiled around his body, holding him close, he could forget about everything else and know that he was welcome... that he would not be rejected.

* * *

><p>Yozak groaned as he shifted onto his side, body aching deliciously from his exertions the night before. Nothing could ever be compared to the heated hours of...<p>

His brows pressed together as he twisted amongst the sheets and blankets that had been pulled up over him, his hand sweeping out across the mattress, finding only cold bedding where his lover should have been. Jerking upwards and out of the fuzzy haze of sleep, he sat bolt upright, his eyes searching the room for any sign of the man he had fallen asleep with, tucked in close against his body.

"Kenta?" He called, his body twisting and he swung his legs over the side of the bed, shivering as cold air struck his skin and gooseflesh spread over the exposed areas.

His spare shirt was gone from his clothing pack, the ruined jacket and shirt that had belonged to Kenta however remained where he had set them near the now dying fire. It was evidence that the night before had definitely been more than just a dream on his part. Something bumped against his chest when he turned back towards the bed and where his clothes sat folded nearly by it, a piece of parchment sticking out from under one corner of his shirt.

Reaching up, his fingers lightly curled around an object that swung from a simple gold chain around his neck, carefully lifting it up to eye-level he studied the simple design etched into the gold. He didn't know what it said, but the fact that he had been given something so personal by Kenta... he couldn't help but feel warmth spreading through his chest at it.

Carefully drawing the letter out from where it rested amongst his clothing, he carefully unfolded it, smoothing it down and being surprised by the oldness of the script Kenta had used.

_My Guri, _

_Forgive me for leaving you without saying a word. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. However, please understand that even though I am of little use to him, I still want to be able to offer him my strength in the days to come. Know that when all my promises have been kept, I will find you. No matter where you may be, I promise I will come to you and never leave your side again. My heart it seems... was stolen last night... look after it for me until I can come to find it again. _

_ Kenta _

Gurrier Yozak's legs buckled out from under him and he ended up sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at the piece of parchment in his hands and feeling his heart leap in his chest. A shaky little laugh escaped him, his eyes widening. "You..." No one had ever said anything like that to him before. "You'll come back." And he could feel the promise in those words, the determination of the writer. "I'll be waiting." He folded it carefully up and allowed it to rest against his lips. "I promise I will hold you to it."

* * *

><p><strong>East Nilson, Big Cimaron<strong>

"Step right up and register for the big sled race!" An announcer called out to the milling crowd that surrounded the raised platform where he stood. "This is your last chance to quality for the tournament!"

Yuuri's gaze flickered from the faces of those around him to rest on the surprisingly cool and remote expression of Ken Murata who stood off to one side, looking extremely distracted since early morning when he had appeared at their breakfast table with no explanation for his surprising absence.

"The country victorious in this race will be granted the right to challenge the magnificent team of athletes representing Big Cimaron." The blonde haired man's finger pointed towards a display beside him where a large map was stretched out over it. "The route begins here in East Nelson and will circle around through the mountainous region to the Capital of Lambeil. Departure is in one hour."

Yuuri's head tipped back to regard Adalbert with a grin he knew he didn't feel. "Feel up to being navigator?"

"Sir." Adalbert's expression was troubled as he rested a hand lightly against the man's shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "Are you certain...?"

"Don't worry." The Demon King's grin faded, his obsidian eyes dull as they gazed up at Adalbert, the emptiness in them frightening. "I'm good with the horses and I've driven a few wagons before. He... made sure I would always know what to do in case of an emergency. You know the terrain well... so I don't see why we can't do this together."

Two weeks it had taken by ship to reach East Nelson had seen Yuuri's condition deteriorate slowly, the already slender man was almost gaunt, the life leaching out of him right before the eyes of those who cared about him. Gisela and Adalbert had been able to do nothing for him, the Demon King becoming remote and withdrawn.

Ken's head lifted finally, his brows coming together as he gazed over at his friend, something tickling the back of his senses as he approached Yuuri. For a moment, he thought he saw... _someone_... like a shadow hovering just at the corner of his eye, something he couldn't quite identify.

"Shibuya." He was about to speak when a wash of cold filtered into his blood, chilling it more than the cold of Big Cimaron ever could. A shiver rippled up along his spine, his head turning towards that shadow again and he stumbled backwards, feeling the vicious warning more than seeing it.

"Murata?" Troubled obsidian eyes glanced at him, head tipping to the side in question. The King's hand reached out to lightly touch his friend's shoulder, feeling the slight tremble that continued to run up through his body. "What is it...?"

"I thought..." Shaking his head, he didn't quite know what to say, but for just a moment he could have sworn he had seen Shinou himself hovering just behind Yuuri, dark menace sliding out from the spectral being. A sick feeling was spreading out through his gut, one that made him question a lot of assumptions he had recently been making. _Please... do not tell me you would be this cruel. _"Do not worry, go, win this race."

"Good luck." He grasped Ken's shoulders firmly. "I'll be the best kind of distraction." His expression softened, bowing his head slightly and meeting his friend's gaze. "I'm counting on you."

"You have no need to worry. I am a tactician after all..."

* * *

><p><strong>Lambeil, Big Cimaron<strong>

"The first sled is coming!"

Lord Raven's head lifted from where he had been scanning the crowd for Gisela and the party who were arriving by wagon from East Nilson. His shoulder rested against the column of the elaborate shop fronts, his pale blue eyes turning away from the crowds and drifting towards where the first sled was moving swiftly through the ice slick streets.

The Demon King himself was driving the sled, though the man was disguised by the fact that his long dark hair was dyed a reddish brown. Two powerful steppe horses were harnessed to the King's sled and though they were stocky creatures, their endurance was well known in the region and had shone through with their victory against other contenders. The surprise however was the fact that it was Caloria's flag that fluttered high from the back of the sled as it rounded the bend, drawing closer as it headed towards the Coliseum in the heart of Lambeil.

"The winning contestant is Caloria!"

"Lord Raven."

His head turned and he offered a smile to Gisela Von Christ as she approached him, her brilliant green eyes reflecting her relief at having found him so quickly and easily. "My Lady." He returned the greeting.

Kenta Murata studied the man before him as he stepped out from behind Gisela, his jaw set and his dark eyes holding a thousand worries and troubles within their depths. "Do you have access to the storage rooms at the Coliseum?"

"Indeed I do." Though Raven had despised every moment of pandering up to King Belar himself, he was grateful that his appearance was such that he could easily pass for a human merchant with just a change of clothing. When the first message had reached him, he had been surprised, but he had remained in Big Cimaron per the King's request, knowing he could do far more good where he was then if they returned to the Great Demon Kingdom. However, when this was finished, he was going to take his wife home. Take her back to the sides of her two remaining sons... she needed to see them... as did he. "I have several contacts that will help us make the exchange. This way..."

* * *

><p><strong>Coliseum, Lambeil, Big Cimaron<strong>

The Coliseum spread out around them like a modern version of the Roman Coliseums of old, this one was at least three times bigger than the one he had seen in Van, back on Vandavia Island. The roar of the crowds' cheers were deafening, almost shaking the very ground that they stood upon.

The beautiful white and blue flag of Caloria swaying in the breeze amongst the yellow and burnish browns of Big Cimaron's flags.

"They will find it." Adalbert Von Grantz whispered while the man shifted up closer beside him, one hand lightly resting against his shoulder, squeezing it warmly in reassurance. "If not, we'll take it by force if we have to. I swear to you, we will retrieve this Box from the hands of King Belar."

_That's it._

Yuuri jerked in surprise as he actually heard the soft whisper just by his ear and he almost wanted to turn to find where that voice had originated from. However, the scene before him had shivered ever so slightly, like a dark veil had been lifted away from where it had been concealing the world around him from his sight. A seething blackness spread across the ground like a sickening mist, rising from the roaring crowds like a dark haze, thickening in the air...

The Forbidden Box had been in his place far too long, its sickness had already begun to spread to the people that lived closest to where the Box was stored. Its taint spreading out from the slowly weakening seal that had been placed upon it.

_Beautiful, isn't it?_

"Who are you?" He whispered, turning just enough to catch a glimpse of someone standing on the other side of him, a form swathed in thick black shadows that concealed the features of the man from his sight.

_I am death._ The being laughed, before fading back into the thick blackness that swirled around the arena where the sword fights were about to take place.

In the clarity of that moment, he recognised exactly what surrounded him. The very faint energy that surrounded him like a net, trapping him within its hold, blinding his senses to... _something_. Anger... a burning anger started in his gut and was swiftly rising up through him as he recognised the magic around him as being that of Shinou himself. It was rare that he felt the tinge of this particular brand of magic, one that was just as strong as his own.

Shinou.

Yuuri Shibuya Weller had once warned Shinou that he would not have the first Demon King interfering in the way things played out. His manipulation and plotting was not a welcome thing in his life... but it was clear in that moment that Shinou had not listened to his warnings. He was being urged along by his promise... and Shinou had been forcing him more quickly along that path, one that he had plotted and carried out.

His arrival in Caloria had not been by accident. It had been Shinou's efforts that had pushed him there, pushed him beyond where he had been aiming to go... he had been attempting to follow Conrart and Yozak... or at least the faint trail that had once been them, through that watery void in between worlds.

"What have you done?"

Obsidian eyes widened as his head turned and he gazed towards the area where the soldiers from Big Cimaron stood. A bright flash of amber-gold caught the wintery light, drawing his attention to a man who stood wearing the uniform of their enemy. The world within him shattered like intensely fragile glass.

Gurrier Yozak stood there, his blue eyes lifting to meet Yuuri's for one long moment, gazes locking before another soldier passed before him and he vanished back into the shadows.

If Yozak was alive.

_Oh... God..._

* * *

><p><strong>The next chapter will be a combination of Episodes 34 and 35. I think it works better within the normal limit of a chapter instead of being spread out over quite a bit. And hehe! CONRART AND YUURI GET TO SEE EACH OTHER! I'm not evil. Or... not as evil as some people think. And I'll add a little note here for those who have blamed Yuuri for not being able to 'sense' Conrart as he did Yuuri. Its Shinou's fault! trust me on that. <strong>


	34. Part 34: Snow Fall

**Author's Note: This chapter covers episodes 34 and 35 as I felt that drawing this chapter out would detract from plot and the pacing of the story. Thankyou to my lovely Beta who helped me slog through quite a bit of emotional building in this particular chapter. Love you all! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing! **

* * *

><p><strong>Coliseum, Big Cimaron<strong>

Chains snapped taut as the half-breed launched himself forwards, silver eyes blazing with fury and hatred, all directed at the King who stood watching him with a smirk grazing his lips. Two weeks of confinement and starvation in the bowels of a ship had left Conrart Weller more the predator than he had ever been before, his rage something that knew no limits. All of his anger was directed towards the man who hovered just out of reach, smiling with satisfaction at seeing that his prize was indeed alive.

"Conrart Weller." King Belar chuckled in amusement, slowly beginning to circle the newest prize that had come back into his possession. "You have made quite a nuisance of yourself. However, you should know that you belong to me and so does that left arm of yours."

A low warning sound escaped the half-breed, the bolts that held the esoterically forged chains into place to the floor groaned in protest as he whipped himself forwards again.

"The Lion of Lutenberg." His nose wrinkled slightly. "You truly are an _animal_, half-blooded filth." Rubbing his fingers against his jaw, he completed one last circuit around the man before gesturing towards several armed guards that had been hovering just beyond the ends of the chains to move in closer to Conrart Weller. "A shame I can't keep you any longer, you are quite the prize... but its too much to risk keeping you alive."

Conrart let out a bellow of rage, his wrists aching and bloody from where the cuffs had sliced into his skin over and over again. His entire body burning with the fierceness of his uncontrollable spirit. Everything within him was screaming in response to what was happening around him...his survival instincts roaring inside, telling him that he had to chance an escape soon or he would never get back to his beloved Yuuri. He could barely feel that presence, the blanketing effects of the esoteric stones and esoteric magic taking their toll on his new magical strengths.

It took six men to keep him from tearing free of his chains when they were released from the heavy hooks on the floor, his feet were shackled together to prevent him from attempting to run.

He could hear the crowds roaring outside, the sheer volume making the very floor seem to vibrate as the crowd cheered for their King, chanting his name over and over again.

_King Belar...! King Belar...! _

His wrists were bound to one of the heavy support pillars to the left of the throne, from there he caught glimpses of colour and the warm glow of sunlight. Conrart strained at his bonds, moving enough that he could see out through a slit in the material, and into the vast arena. He froze, body jerking hard as he came to the ends of the chains, shuddering as his silver eyes spotted the familiar figure of his beloved.

"_Yuuri_." The single word was croaked from a parched throat, the first sound he had uttered other than a low growl for days.

It literally drove him to his knees, this single sight of his husband. He looked out again, searching the arena for him, but his vision was blocked as the curtains moved into place. Though he had only glimpsed him for a moment, the sweet knowledge filled his heart that his beloved was alive. Alive and _here_. So close... so close...

"King Belar! King Belar!"

The finely dressed human strode forwards and into the sunlight, both hands lifting to quiet the crowds, to hold and command the respect and reverence of his people so he could address them. "On this day, I am overjoyed to open the Ultimate Tournament in all its splendour! After four years its finally upon us!" His voice carried out across the space, the shape of the structure designed to amplify his every word. "To the surviving heroes of Caloria and the heroes of Big Cimaron, I offer this advice. Put all you have into your fight, because I will bestow upon the winner the greatest glory!"

The entire Coliseum exploded into applause, voices blending together, resounding like a rumble of thunder.

And Conrart knelt there on the cold stone, his heart beating wildly within his chest, knowing that Yuuri was so close again, his beloved was _here_. All he needed to do was reach him.

* * *

><p>Yozak straightened as he leaned against the wall of the waiting area on their side of the arena, his stormy blue eyes resting on the slender figure of the Demon King himself. A sick feeling had slowly begun to form in his gut, one that he couldn't dismiss or shake off. Yuuri should <em>not<em> be in Big Cimaron, Conrart wouldn't have allowed the man anywhere near the place. From the brief glimpse he had of the King, it was clear that something had gone terribly wrong since he had left Conrart near the Big Cimaron Border... it was clear the man had not made it to wherever it was the King had been during the time they had been in Big Cimaron.

Worry filled him. He had to talk to Yuuri, even just for a moment to tell the younger man that Conrart was still alive. Yozak knew, deep in his soul, that his friend was still alive and hadn't passed on. Three challengers from each side would be picked, if he read Adalbert's protectiveness right, the man wouldn't be allowing the King to battle in the arena until the last round.

Yozak would be his opponent.

In some ways it had been his own selfishness that had led them all to this point and he wanted nothing more than to correct it, to retrieve those three Forbidden Boxes that remained in human hands and return them to the Great Demon Kingdom. In all his life, he had never realised just how much that place had become home to him. There was someone out there, someone who would come to find him... and he wanted to be there waiting when he did.

"Kenta." His fingers lightly touched where the medallion rested under his clothing, feeling its warm weight against his skin and a flutter of warmth spread through him at the memory of holding that man in his arms and feeling those limbs wrap around him tightly and refuse to let go.

Where was he now? Where was his new lover now? Was he safe?

Fingers clenched around the hilt of his sword as he seated himself on the bench in the back corner, his head bent as he gritted his teeth and pushed down the thought. He had to trust in Kenta, trust that someone was protecting the young man until Yozak himself could do so. "I will be waiting."

The first gong sounded sharply, ringing through the entire space signalling the beginning of the first round.

* * *

><p>Alford Mackinner offered the Demon King a small bow and a grin. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity." The man's cheeks flushed ever so slightly as his head tipped up towards the crowds and his oceanic eyes closed for a moment. "I want to be able to represent Caloria." In the two weeks since he had met Lady Flynn Gilbit, he had found something with her that he had never encountered before... a <em>purpose<em>. He might not be the strongest yet, He might have a long way to go before he could truly call himself a master swordsman, but now he knew what he could protect with his blade.

The Big Cimaron soldier stepped up from the recessed waiting area at the sound of the first gong, the bright orange of his uniform a vivid contrast to the red and black stone of the coliseum's arena.

"I leave this here with you." Alford carefully shifted the weight of the sheath from his back and handed it to Yuuri, holding the familiar, beautifully crafted holy sword in one hand. "Don't worry, just keep your chin up, Sire." The man grinned at Yuuri, before turning away and stepping up into the arena, his clothing the cool blue of Caloria's military, something he had been gifted with from Flynn.

"Good luck, my friend." The King whispered in response, grasping the scabbard tightly. He stood there at the edge of the arena, gazing out across the vast space towards the other waiting area and was more than certain that the man he saw there was indeed Gurrier Yozak.

The man withdrew two long swords, their blades glinting in the full afternoon light that filled the arena, it would be a very interesting fight to witness.

Alford waited for the other human to attack first, meeting the man in the centre of the arena with a loud clash of metal on metal. The two men circled each other, seeking out weaknesses, testing each other as they struck out. It was a rapid flurry of movements, the warriors continuing to move across the arena to the cheers of the delighted crowd.

* * *

><p>Ken Murata stopped in the curving corridor, his brows coming together as he glanced back over his shoulder towards the sound of the cheering crowds. There was an eagerness in the clamour that showed just how excited they had become at the sounding of the first gong and the beginning of the first round of combat. Something tickled at his senses, a sort of... <em>recognition<em>... "Guri?" He didn't even realise he had said the name until it had slipped out of him and he stood frozen. Could his Guri be here? It was likely considering the fact the man had been wearing a Big Cimaron uniform.

"Your Eminence?"

A hand lightly touched Murata's shoulder, making him jerk, and turn to regard Gisela who had come back towards the distracted man.

"Sorry." He whispered, dark chocolate eyes glancing back towards the arena for one last moment, before turning away and nodding at her, offering a small reassuring smile. "I thought I had seen someone, but it was nothing but a shadow."

Several men were waiting up ahead of Raven and Gisela where they were leading the rest of their little party on through the private heart of the Coliseum.

Lord Raven reached out to grasp the hand of a tall blonde man with fine features and a small smile. "Stefan." The Demon Tribesman greeted with a genuine affection, squeezing the man's fingers in a show of support and friendship. Bowing his head slightly, he gestured for them all to move into one of the open doorways along the length of the curving corridor.

"Raven." The blonde man responded, a small smile quirking his lips. "I must say this is quite exciting." One hand gestured towards the plain brown wooden Box that sat on a nearby cart, the glass contents of which was being carefully unpacked and set onto a nearby tray. "All this secrecy, it seems dearest Celi has indeed been rubbing off on you."

Raven's jaw clenched for only a fleeting moment of jealousy, before he pushed away the uncomfortable emotion, reminding himself that his wife was his and no other man held a claim on her true affections. "My wife..."

"Lucky man you are to have her." Though Stefan looked quite bemused by the entire thing. "I must say though, that she clearly doesn't like being parted from you."

"Raven." Slender arms wrapped around the dark haired man's waist from behind, hugging him tightly as a rather buxom blonde woman pressed herself up against his back. Her lips brushed lightly against his ear, nipping lightly at it, and breathing a teasing little hot sigh into it that had the man flushing rather adorably in response.

One of his large hands dropped down to lightly cover her own, stroking his fingertips across the back of her hand lovingly. "My Love, I thought we had agreed that you would allow me to handle this particular request from his Majesty."

"I was worried."

"This country is not safe..." Raven drew her around before him, one hand lightly cradling her palm and smoothing back the silky golden waves from where they had fallen into her bright green eyes. "Given your condition..."

"I was with Fan Fan the entire time. I was safe I assure you." Pouting a little, her head tipped back and she pressed a kiss to the tip of her husband's nose. "I want to help."

"Celi." He sighed softly, knowing that he would be unable to deny her anything she asked of him, it had been a minor miracle that he had thought he had convinced her in the first place.

"Are you certain of this?" Ken Murata asked Raven, his dark eyes glancing towards Celi's 'Fan Fan' with worry tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I assure you, I would not betray you." The man's golden-brown eyes were sombre and sincere. "I owe most of my success to Lord Raven's recent efforts in increasing trade between human nations and the Great Demon Kingdom. Thus, you understand why King Belar's plan doesn't work for me in the slightest. I am a trader, 'world unification' is definitely not good for business."

"Stefan Fanberlain is a man who supports the resistance movement that has been growing here in Big Cimaron and in the surrounding nations that it has attempted to conquer."

"I am only a minor supplier..."

"You give them supplies at almost no cost."

Ken nodded slightly, clearly agreeing that all the reasons to trust this particular human were sound, even if he was a citizen of Big Cimaron.

"I think I know of the Box you are searching for, I happened to see something similar to what you described in the secure treasure vaults here at the Coliseum when I brought in several new shipments earlier for King Belar. If you would accompany me Lord Raven and bring your young friend there, I am sure was can have this switched out with that one in no time."

"Beloved..." Celi gripped the edge of Raven's sleeve, attempting to hold him to her. "Let..."

"I will be fine." He assured her, his head dipping down and he gently slipped two fingers beneath her chin to lift her face upwards and kiss her deeply for one long moment. "I assure you, we will be safe. Please... stay here with the guards." His chin tipped towards the several men who had accompanied Stefan in bringing the 'fake' Box up for them from the baggage cart outside.

She drew down Raven's hand so that it rested against her slightly swollen stomach, her finger curling over his, their eyes meeting for one long moment. "Come back to us."

"I will always come back to you, my Wife." A soft butterfly kiss was brushed against her temple. "_Always_." It was a promise, one that he would always keep.

Gisela's eyes widened at the exchange, her expression showing both surprise and delight for the former Demon Queen. "Are you...?"

"I am with child again." Cecilie responded softly. "Though this time I hope for a daughter." Her face turned away as she held onto Raven for a few long moments, the man's arms wrapping tightly around her and drawing her against him. The loss of her son had devastated her, it had devastated Raven as well. "Our child."

"I will be back soon." He whispered against her hair, dropping a kiss there before he stepped away, nodding once at Stefan, before they covered the box where it rested on a cart and left the women to wait for their return.

Flynn came to the front of the empty arena box to stand beside Cecilie Von Spitzweg so that she could watch the battle as it unfolded below them. . Her gaze however, couldn't remain focused on Cecilie and her eyes followed the young man who had entered her life so unexpectedly. Heart aching just a little at the sight of him, she let out a soft sigh.

"You sound like you are in love, my Dear."

Teal green eyes widened in surprise at that statement, her head lifting abruptly as she gazed into the emerald green of Lady Cecilie's discerning look. "I... I..." Cheeks flushing abruptly, her hands curled together before her as she leaned against the railing. "I don't know..."

"He is quite a strapping young man." Cecilie remarked, observing the two warriors as they fought in the arena below. "A man with a good heart, it seems if he is friends with the Demon King. My... my Son-in-law is quite good at judging the character of those around him... unlike myself."

"Son-In-Law?" Surprise showed in Flynn's features as she turned her head to stare in awe at Cecilie at that. "You mean... you're..."

"I am... I was... Conrart's mother... I was..." Green orbs closed tightly, still trying desperately to keep the tears at bay before they could fall. "He was my second son. He... he was so happy. In all his life, he had never been so happy as when he was with Yuuri." Her expression softened as she caught a glimpse of the Demon King from amongst the shadows that surrounded the man. "He was finally at peace."

* * *

><p>Cheering erupted from the crowds as the man finally disarmed Alford, his blade spinning away to impale itself into the hard-packed earth of the arena.<p>

The Big Cimaron warrior's remaining blade rested close to the man's throat, a smirk crossing his features as he stared into the face of the man he had defeated. "Learn your place." The man rasped, before stepping back away from the defeated swordsman. He strode across the grounds, a hand reaching out to gasp the hilt of his second sword, pulling it from the ground and sliding it back into its scabbard.

The human lifted both arms upwards, gaining another fierce round of applause from the masses of humanity that filled every inch of the Coliseum seating, packed in like sardines in a very small tin.

"I failed." Alford whispered, feeling the hollow ache of defeat slowly seeping into his gut, filling him from the inside out as he turned away from where the man continued to draw more loud roars of delight from the crowds above. Pulling his sword free from the earth, he carried it with him back towards where the Demon King and Von Grantz were waiting for him. "I..."

Yuuri reached out with one hand to squeeze his shoulder in reassurance. "We are not here for victory." They were there as a distraction, one that would keep the eyes of the human King focused on them and not on the fact that others were sneaking around the Coliseum in search of the Forbidden Box. "You did _well_, my friend."

Alford nodded slightly, accepting his sheath back from the Demon King and slipping it and his sword onto his back once more. This defeat would not be his last and it was not his first. He knew he had far to go, but when he felt Yuuri squeeze his arm again, his gaze met that of the man, seeing the gratitude there for his presence and felt warmth spread through him.

"Sire."

"I can fight, Lord Von Grantz." Yuuri offered him a small reassuring smile, before he tipped his head to the side and indicated for the man to be the challenger in the next round. "Do not worry yourself so much."

"Yuuri." Adalbert stood there, one foot on the edge of the arena, his intense blue eyes meeting obsidian, his jaw clenching and showing a little of his frustration.

"That man has answers. I will be the one to confront him." His head tipped slightly so that he could gaze across the space towards where Yozak stood, his expression one that Yuuri couldn't decipher. "I know you want to protect me... but in this, I need the truth..." He needed to know... if Conrart...

"As you wish, Sire." Reluctantly, he moved forwards, striding out into the wash of weak sunshine, his hand dropping down to the hilt of his broadsword, ready to take on anything and anyone who would dare to challenge him.

* * *

><p>"The victor is Caloria!"<p>

The citizens of Lambeil announced their disapproval with loud exclamations of disbelief and hatred.

The sounds of it all brought a scowl to King Belar's face, his expression darkening as he glanced back towards where Conrart was still imprisoned. The dark-haired man had fallen silent. The human sovereign knew that the warrior was a deadly force to be reckoned with and that the delay in Big Cimaron's victory was actually leaving him with an odd nervous feeling in his gut.

"I certainly never thought that they would make it to the third round." Belar slowly stood, his fingers rubbing across his jaw, considering his options as his eyes slowly traced over the bloody, bruised body of the lion that he had captured. The fact that he was so silent was a cause for alarm. Just then, Conrart Weller's head tipped up, and those predator's silver eyes of his met Belar's, and they spoke of vengeance, one that was guaranteed to occur in some distant future. "I suppose however, that it will add to the excitement and anticipation of the games. I must admit, I'm enjoying your fear."

"I do not fear you." It was a low growling statement, silver eyes narrowing...blazing with an inhuman intensity. There was no fear in Conrart, no fear of this man or the death he promised him under an executioner's axe.

"You will learn fear before the end." Belar looked him over with disgust. "Get him cleaned up and ready before the end of the final round. This will not do, I want a spectacle, not an animal."

The moment of the guards released one of the heavy chains that held Conrart, he sprang into action, whipping his arm up and around, the long length of snaking metal lashing out like a whip towards Belar. But, the King was pushed aside by one of his men who took it full in the shoulder, grunting with pain.

"SECURE HIM!" Belar roared in anger as he wiped away a smear of blood that had been sprayed across his cheek from where the soldier had been wounded from the blow. "If he escapes, you will all suffer the consequences of your failure with your lives!"

Several of the soldiers that surrounded Conrart flinched at the deadly promise that filled the air with those words, all of them knowing just what kind of death might await them at the hands of their King. They had borne witness to the deaths of the men that had captured Conrart Weller. They had seen the vicious slaughter that had rewarded their demand for the bounty. Anyone who dared to ask anything of King Belar would find themselves dead quickly and in the most brutal of ways.

And Conrart was dragged away, Belar seething behind him.

* * *

><p>A cold wind brushed across Yuuri's cheeks, one shiver managed to escape him, running through his body as his obsidian eyes focused on the man who was slowly approaching him, feeling the confirmation deep within his soul that this was definitely Gurrier Yozak. However, the bone-deep chill that washed through him came at the sight of the man's uniform, of the fact that he had betrayed the Great Demon Kingdom and joined the forces of Big Cimaron.<p>

Could this be the man who had betrayed them? Though it had been Keenan who had given up the information to the enemy, the man who had brought Conrart's arm to Maxine... could the one responsible have been Yozak? Some part of him couldn't believe this man capable of betraying Conrart, even to get revenge for losing the man he claimed he loved to Yuuri.

"Yozak."

"Sire." The man's expression softened as he bowed his head ever so slightly in respect as he came to a stop several feet away from the Demon King. "It is good to see you alive."

"I think that should be my line." His fingers curled around the hilt of Conrart's sword that rested at his hip, fingers tightening until his knuckles were white as he watched the man slowly draw his blade against him.

"Retreat now, Sire. There is still time for you to withdraw from this match." Time enough that the King could be moved to safety before someone else figured out exactly who the man was.

"I cannot and will not retreat." Murata and Raven still needed time in order to be able to locate and secure the Forbidden Box, only when Murata appeared would Yuuri know that they had succeeded in their mission.

The long blade cleared its sheath as Yuuri charged Yozak, forcing the other man into a defensive posture. He could still remember the sound of Conrart's voice, reminding him to keep going, no matter if his body screamed in protest. He couldn't falter even for a moment or he might end up losing s limb or... his life. He knew he was an even match for Yozak when he was at full strength, but time and losses, had taken its toll on him, striping him of much of his physical stamina and strength.

"How is it you are alive?" Yuuri questioned, spinning around and deflecting Yozak's slashing blade. Metal slid across metal, Yuuri using the momentum of his body to force Yozak back half a step, gaining him enough room to confront the man directly.

"Through the will of fate." Yozak answered vaguely, knowing that he could not reveal the truth, or reveal that the thought of fighting against this broken and wounded man was tearing him apart inside. He had come to finally appreciate exactly what the younger man had brought to their world; the hope for a future for people like them... for a taste of happiness that wouldn't be taken away because they were of mixed blood.

"Sire, please withdraw." Yozak's sword was parrying Yuuri's blows, feeling the weakness in each movement, the exhaustion that had so quickly and easily consumed his King. Such suffering scorched his heart, leaving it aching where it beat in his chest... his selfishness had led to this. His initial willingness to keep Conrart with him had led to this moment. _Forgive me._ It was a silent plea, one that was offered to the Demon King as he continued to defend himself, but not to move in for the attack.

"How? How could you do this?" Yuuri launched himself forwards, driving the other man back with a flurry of powerful blows, his sword flashing in the air. "How can you stand there and wear the uniform of those _responsible_ for Conrart's death?"

Yozak flinched at that, guilt swamping him, choking him up inside. The accusation in the man's eyes sliced him right to the core as Conrart's had all those weeks ago when the other man had been a prisoner in the palace dungeons. For all his convictions, for all of the sense of duty he felt in following Shinou's instructions, it couldn't lessen the sense that he truly had betrayed this man.

"For all our disagreements... I never thought you capable of this. You are _loyal_." Obsidian eyes watched him for a long moment as their blades crossed, their bodies vibrating with the force of the block.

"Your Majesty..." His earlier fears erupted acidly in his gut, Conrart _hadn't_ reached Yuuri in Caloria. There was nothing in Yuuri's expression that talked about any kind of relief... from that aching darkness that had consumed both of them. "He's still alive."

Shock ran through his entire body like lightning as those three simple words resounded in his ears with the certainty of one who _knew_. He almost faltered and just caught Yozak's downward swing in time, deflecting it, though was thrown backwards several steps by the force of the action. It felt as if Yozak's blade had struck its mark, slicing right through him and straight through his heart.

He _knew_ Conrart was dead. He had felt the man die... heard his scream... seen the fireballs consume his body. If there had been even a hint of Conrart being still alive, if even a word... a rumour had come to him he would have stopped at nothing to find his beloved. Yet, Yozak was here... alive and whole, despite the jagged scar that slashed down one side of the man's face and the haunting grey-blue eyes that were filled with such regret and guilt.

"No... I would have... I would have sensed him."

"Sire..."

"I would have torn this world apart to find him!" It was a snarl, one of a man who had just had his life wrenched out from under his feet again. "One hint that he was out there... and I would have..." Tears were trailing down his cheeks, even as he was forced back several steps by Yozak.

"I know he's still alive."

"Are you saying..." A sound of deep tormented rage swarmed up from within him, anguish and raw emotions boiling over. "That I failed him? That you can..."

"No... Sire..." Yozak's expression was tortured, his eyes almost a sooty grey as they stared at Yuuri, not being able to explain why the Demon King himself had been unable to sense Conrart's presence, especially when he was outside of the range of the esoteric stones. "...I..."

Yuuri charged him, but this time, Yozak reacted on instinct and his blade connected solidly with Yuuri's, the weakened young man being sent back to slam hard into the packed earth. Conrart's sword spun out of the Demon King's hands and whirled for several moments through the air before burying its hilt into the ground. The Demon King sprawled at his feet, trembling and exhausted, emotionally stripped before his eyes.

Yozak froze for an instant as his eyes glanced towards Adalbert von Grantz and the glare the man was sending him and he spotted the man who had just appeared in the doorway to the waiting area. _Kenta_. Wide inky chocolate eyes stared at him from across the space, disbelief written on the man's every feature. Shame so fierce it seared into his very soul shot through Gurrier Yozak then, and he staggered back a step, his sword still clutched in one hand the tip shimmering red with spilt blood.

Ken Murata stared back at the man who had claimed him heart and soul the night before, the man who had offered him such a warm smile that it had remained with him all through the trials of this particularly long day. "_Guri_?" Why? Why did this man have to be the one who fought against his friend?

"Damn you, Yozak!" Adalbert snarled, already stepping up onto the edge of the arena, but was jerked backwards when hands caught at his arm, drawing him back. Intense blue eyes stared down into the face of the Great Sage, shocked by the desperate plea that was in those eyes half hidden by the man's glasses. "Excellency... I need to attend to the King."

"Don't hurt him." It was barely above a whisper, the man's grip tightening as he gazed towards Yozak again, his voice raw and filled with a shocking wealth of emotion. "Please... don't hurt him, Lord Von Grantz."

"He..."

"_Please_." The thought of seeing Gurrier Yozak injured was too much for him to stand, he would rather cut out his own heart than see the man injured.

"I cannot make such a promise, Excellency." And Adalbert pulled his arm free of Murata's grip, his boots sounding loudly against the hard packed earth as he headed straight for the defeated Demon King.

Pushing himself up, he lightly touched the slash that cut across the back of his hand, blood welling up in a long precise slash in the pale skin. Yuuri was startled to realise that his hands were actually shaking, trembling so hard that when he reached for the hilt of Conrart's sword he couldn't even grasp it properly. A thick lump formed in the back of his throat, choking the very air from his lungs and the grief he had managed to push into the back of his mind had flooded out from between the newly fractured walls that Yozak's words had caused.

"Sire?" The worried voice of his close friend and protector was swallowed up by the roaring cheer of the crowd as they took Yuuri's disarmament as being a Big Cimaron victory.

Yuuri couldn't hear him, couldn't feel the light touch against his shoulder of a man who had stood by him through the most trying of days without complaint . Without bringing up the fact that they had actually had a rather bitter argument over the fact that Yuuri had been slowly killing himself with his grief. The world had narrowed down to the single fact that could shatter him, Conrart had been alive... and he had been ignorant of it. He was the Demon King. _He was meant to know such things._

"My people!" King Belar's voice quieted the crowd instantly as it bounced throughout the stadium, echoing off the curved arches that swept up and over the heads of the roaring multitude. "Again our mighty country has been victorious in the Ultimate Tournament! Let us celebrate this triumph with a salute to our unity against the enemies that would attempt to deny us our right to show the world our strength!"

The deep rumble of drums sounded like thunder rolling across the arena floor, a noise like the death marches once seen in the Great Demon Kingdom. It was like a heartbeat, pounding through them and making even the earth anticipate the arrival of... the dead. _Requiem_, such a beautiful word for something so dark. The soft rattle of chains sounded from beneath the pounding bass of the drums, one that announced the entrance of several towering warriors whose hands were coiled tightly around several lengths of thick metal links. They were almost like some twisted version of an honour guard escorting the dead to burial, but in this case... the one who's death the drums sounded for was still alive.

From out of the darkness strode a hooded man, broad shoulders covered with a fabric so dark it could have been black. Long slashes of red ran as trim around his garments, like painted blood trails over his body. Resting against one massive shoulder, a double-handed axe showed that this would be the man personally responsible for ending the life of the condemned.

A deep icy chill rippled down through Yuuri's body as he forced himself to stand, swiping at the dirt smudging his face and clothes, feeling the first tingles of a ghostly _something_ invading his soul. A trembling hand lifted to where the twin rings rested just over his heart. He couldn't stop the feeling of an invisible blade slicing open the freshly sealed edges of where part of Conrart's soul once rested, exposing that gaping vulnerability for all the world to see.

Obsidian eyes stared into that void behind the executioner, watching as the shadows slowly began to part, silver glinting in the darkness, shimmering like the eyes of a predator.

"Let all of you witness the price for taking up a blade against our mighty nation! Let all who rebel see that we will not tolerate disobedience!"

It was as if the veil that had been surrounding him abruptly caught aflame, evaporating into smoke and ashes. Senses that had been numbed for weeks since that initial fire in that church back in the Great Demon Kingdom felt as if they were finally seeing things clearly. Recognition struck him with a sickening jolt, Yuuri finally recognising the shadow that had been hovering on the edges of his awareness since he had first overrode Yuuri's powers back in that church. _Shinou_. He had been choking Yuuri's powers, wrapping him up in layers of shadow and misdirection so that his sense of his beloved was crushed and so hazy that he could no longer recognise it.

With a nauseating snap, what had been stolen was returned.

_Connection_.

What had been torn out of his very chest abruptly was put back. It was heart-wrenching, the sudden emptiness filled with so much, he staggered backwards a step with the brutal force of his beloved's emotions. They were like a firestorm, burning... raging... fuelled by all that had been pent up on the other side of the fractured bond . A bond that had been attempting to fix itself almost from the first moment it had been severed.

_Conrart was alive._ So very much _alive_. It was like touching a livewire with his soul, everything was so powerful and overwhelming, flooding into him and spilling over the edges of his mind and heart. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he clutched at his chest, fighting the waves of nausea and overwhelming delight that poured into him uncontrollably

_"...My Prince..." _

Conrart Weller was dragged forwards, his powerful form dominating the space under the Royal Box the moment he stepped into the light. Even with his wrists bound and stretched out on either side of him. Even with his ankles shackled, there was nothing contained about the man's expression. Silver eyes blazed disdain with an inhuman intensity out across the crowds, the fury in the harsh lines of the proud face speaking of the lion that was just under the man's skin. He searched the stands, head held high, he dared anyone to meet his burning gaze, but the moment the man's head lowered enough for his gaze to drop, he found Yuuri's beloved dark eyes immediately, two halves of the same soul drawn to the other, locking them together for a long heartbeat.

"..._Conrart_..." It was an exhalation of both relief and wonder, one that rose up from the depths of the Demon King's wounded soul.

A roar escaped the imprisoned lion as he launched his body forwards against his chains, answering the soft whisper of his name. The force of the frantic, powerful movement making the huge men that guarded the chain stumble before they could haul it tight again and drag the snarling man back a step. "YUURI!"

The Demon King jerked violently as his name was screamed, and his black eyes widened in horrified conscious recognition of what this truly was.

_This... is an execution, the execution of Conrart Weller._

"I present to you the Blue Wind, Conrart Weller! Leader of the rebellion!"

Conrart was forced down onto his knees when the shackles binding his ankles were yanked hard backwards pulling his feet out from under him. His struggles were fierce and powerful, but several more men were holding him now, the soldiers coming from the walls as reserves. He was being forced into kneeling submission as the Executioner moved into position, the glittering blade held high and ready and sharp enough to slice his head clean off his shoulders. Neck bared, he fought the painful grasp of one of the soldier's on the back of his scalp.

A scream filled the space, one filled with such pain that it cut deeply into the hearts of everyone who heard it. Even King Belar himself staggered backwards at the raw emotions that filled that inhuman sound.

The earth began to vibrate beneath his boots. A low rumbling that answered the pounding of those drums, silencing them as the Demon King's emotions boiled over.

"Protect." Yuuri commanded.

The Dragon that rose roaring in response came from within the Demon King with a concussive force of an erupting volcano, knocking everyone and everything back and away from him, including those he called friends. The creature's wings snapped open, blazing like a living inferno it charged, with massive jaws open, straight for those who had dared to think of harming Conrart Weller. Hell itself slipped out of its jaws, melting the esoterically forged chains, as it slammed bodily into the Big Cimaron soldiers, claws shredding through armour and flesh, tossing the men aside like broken dolls.

The executioner almost lost his head as the blazing body of the creature coiled protectively around Conrart, fanged maw catching the axe and shattering it like it was made of glass, almost taking off the man's hand in the process. Another bellowing roar escaped the creature as soldiers poured into the arena intent on fighting the furious beast. One inhale and the dragon _breathed_, spewing fireballs and dark acidic smoke at the soldiers.

_**"You dared to harm what is mine?" **_The Demon King's voice silenced everything as it filled the entire coliseum, magic surged around his body in a blazing white-blue aura. Wind whipped up fiercely from around his feet, scything across the area, slamming the last of the guards hard against the walls and rising up to deflect the hail of arrows that attempted to strike him down from above.

He ignored the citizens of Big Cimaron who were rapidly fleeing the Demon King's wrath. They were of little consequence to him, they were merely the pawns controlled by the energies of the Forbidden Box.

_**"BELAR!" **_

"Shibuya!" Ken Murata was shielding Gurrier Yozak from the force of the Demon King's rage, a shimmering shield hovering just above their crumpled bodies. "Stop this! Not here!" Beside them, Adalbert and Alford Mackinner were being protected by a wavering water shield, one Yuuri had forged himself to protect his friends from the full brunt of his anger...there was still some part of the young man within the raging demon who wanted to destroy all traces of this place of horrors.

The very walls of the coliseum were beginning to tremble with the force of Yuuri's rage, the place where Conrart would have been killed being raised to the ground. Each person within the structure was being plucked out of the crumbling stones that were being shaken apart. Belar himself was being snatched up by the Demon King's power and left hanging in mid air at his mercy.

"Shibuya!"

"My Little Dragon..."

* * *

><p><strong>WOW... Yuuri went BOOM! hehe!<strong>


	35. Part 35: Aftermath

**Author's Note: thankyou for all the wonderful reviews for the last chapter. I'm really glad you all seemed to like it! It is hard squeezing so much into these chapters. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing.**

* * *

><p><strong>Coliseum, Lambeil, Big Cimaron<strong>

"My Little Dragon..." Conrart's silver eyes softened as they gazed upon his beloved's form.

Yuuri's head turned at the sound of that voice, no matter how soft it had been, he would always hear his beloved Conrart. Their gazes locked for one long moment, the bond that ran between them shivering with the heat of that gaze. Love sang between their hearts, attempting to draw them together. _"Conrart."_

However, reality was something that couldn't be ignored for long. The sound of the falling masonry, and the muffled screams of the soldiers imprisoned in Yuuri's water bubbles intruded on that long dreamt of moment of reunion.

Ice serpents erupted from the earth, shattering through the foundations of the building, their jaws shattering hard stone and carved wood, their hisses furious and echoing with the rage that surged white hot through Yuuri's body. His arms were outstretched, welcoming the flood of magic that scorched through blood and tissue in answer to his uncontrollable emotions.

Not a stone was left standing of the massive Coliseum, the last wall crumbling under the assault of ice and flame, the earth swallowing it up, piece by shattered piece, leaving nothing but bare soil in its wake right there in the middle of Lambeil.

The bubbles scattered to the winds, taking with it the soldiers that he had snatched up from the crumbling building as it had fallen to his powerfully enraged onslaught. However, one single sphere hovered in the air above them all, slowly drifting to the churned up earth . With a small plop it disappeared, spilling out its contents before his boots.

Belar was sprawled onto the ground, his elegant clothing torn and streaked with dust from where the building had been torn to pieces around him. His long hair was a tangled mess around his face as he turned his head to look up at the Demon King who strode towards him with the sinuous stride of a predator closing on its chosen prey.

_"I should kill you for your actions against my own." _Hatred burned in Yuuri's eyes as his fingers clenched into fists, nails biting into his palms and almost drawing blood as he restrained himself from lashing out. _"You have attacked my people, attempted to murder my beloved husband. .. You have held him against his will and would have thought to execute him before my eyes."_ Long raven hair framed his face, his obsidian eyes blazing like two brilliant embers within his ashen features. _"But dead men do not learn from their mistakes."_

_"I desire peace."_ Even though all he wanted to do was take up Conrart's sword to slay this monster, he couldn't, not to an unarmed man who was cowering before him. _"Do not think to challenge the Great Demon Kingdom or its allies. We will not be cowed by your displays of childish grasping or pointless spectacles. Return what you have stolen from kingdoms you have terrorized and we will remain silent on other matters. Listen well, Belar. Do not make the mistake of dismissing my warnings or you will regret your choices."_

One hand reached out towards the dragon who still hovered protectively around Conrart, shielding him from debris and anything else that would ever think to harm his beloved again. The massive creature uncoiled and rose to its massive clawed feet, releasing one last bellowing roar, before moving forwards towards Yuuri. As it passed Belar its jaws opened wide and it snapped at the downed King's head, the immense, sharp teeth missing by mere inches. Belar screamed. With a disgusted look the dragon huffed, and a puff of smoke poured over the body of the trembling King. The huge reptile shimmered for only a moment longer before forming into a stream of flames that coiled around Yuuri's body and was absorbed into the Demon King's core.

_"Not a single man was killed this day. For all my anger, I know mercy." _

Yuuri Shibuya Weller turned away from Belar, his magic shimmering slowly around him, the blue halo of it beginning to fade rapidly as his iron control on it failed.

Suddenly the Demon King staggered, his legs buckling out from under him, his dark eyes rolling up into his head as he begun to crumple downwards towards the cold earth. Powerful arms wrapped around the slender body before it could land, Conrart sweeping the younger man up into his embrace, cradling him close, his grip tightening protectively as he buried his face against the side of Yuuri's neck as the slim young man fainted in his arms.

"I have you." The half-breed whispered, his lips brushing against Yuuri's dark hair, lifting him with ease, he turned his head towards Adalbert who was already rising to his feet as the barrier faded from around him.

"This way!" Adalbert shouted, gesturing for the others to follow him as he was already heading towards where a carriage was waiting for them in the shelter of the streets just away from where the Coliseum had once stood.

Ken Murata however, hesitated, as he gazed down at Gurrier Yozak feeling the man's hand curl around his own, holding onto him. "Guri..."

"Come back to me." Yozak breathed out, stormy grey-blue eyes gazing into Kenta's, his expression pleading and vulnerable in that one moment. The two of them trapped in their own little world for just a brief instant of time, the memories of the night before so strong within them, but the stark reality of this day cut deeply into their newly touched hearts.

"I _always_ keep my promises."

Kenta's hand slipped free of those warm fingers and he forced himself to turn away and run after the others, his eyes closed for one moment, desperate to push away the tears that wished to escape him.

* * *

><p><strong>Forests, Big Cimaron<strong>

Fingertips tenderly brushed through the length of black silk strands, feeling them slowly curl around his fingers as he freed them from the thick braid that ran down the length of his beloved's back. His lips brushed against Yuuri's temple lightly, leaving a gentle kiss behind as he couldn't help but draw the trembling body even closer against his chest, one arm cradling him lovingly.

Yuuri had been slender before, all lithe muscle and sinew, but now... now he barely weighed anything at all, so thin that his pale face truly looked gaunt. It clawed at Conrart's heart to see him like that, to feel the weakness in the man who had always had so much life within him. Stroking those long strands away from his husband's face with gently fingers, he stroked a thumb lightly over one pale cheek, turning his head upwards enough to kiss that soft mouth.

"Never again." He promised gently.

The carriage bounced beneath them, Conrart's arms gripping Yuuri just a little more tightly so that the slender man didn't slide out of his grip.

A soft little sigh escaped Yuuri, his face buried against the curve of his husband's neck and his fingers tightened a little in the warm fabric just beneath his touch. Nuzzling his nose in against his lover's jaw, he inhaled a little, a sleepy smile drifting up onto his lips at the familiar scent of the man, spicy and with a touch of something unique to Conrart Weller. "Con..."

"Hello there, my Little Dragon." Fingertips stroked against the back of his lover's scalp, cradling him close and relishing the flutter of heated air across his skin, the weight of his beloved in his arms. "Just rest."

Obsidian eyes immediately snapped open at the sound of Conrart's voice, the man's head jerking back and up, eyes widening as they stared into silver orbs that watched him with such love and affection. His movements however loosened his beloved's hold on him and when the carriage jolted upwards again, he thumped hard to the floor, scooting backwards with wide eyes staring up at the man seated above him. The events of the afternoon didn't quite seem to register in his head, the fact that Conrart was alive was still seemed so unbelievable to Yuuri.

His back thudded against a pair of strong legs, hands catching his shoulders to steady him as the carriage continued to bounce on the rough snow covered road. Adalbert's grip was reassuring and strong, preventing the King from ending up somewhere worse than the floor.

"Yuuri..." Conrart's face paled ever so slightly as he gazed down at his beloved, his hands reached out towards the man, watching the man flinch away from his touch. His fingertips brushed softly across his husband's ashen features, tipping his head up gently, feeling the tremble of that body beneath his palms. "Love?"

Disbelief flickered across his features, obsidian eyes wide in his pale face, slowly lifting an arm upwards to lightly touch the hand that was pressing against his cheek softly. "Con... rart?"

"My Little Dragon..."

A silent sob was torn from a place deep within him, his eyes fixed on the face of the only man he had ever loved. A deep guilt burned in his chest, squeezing tightly around his heart over the fact for the past few months he had not been aware... not aware of the fact that his beloved was somewhere out _there_. This man had needed him and he had been... chasing after _Boxes_. Yuuri should have been strong enough to see through Shinou's trick... he should have never given up, never stopped looking.

Suddenly the carriage jerked to a full stop, the passengers being bounced sharply, before the door to one side of them opened and a sombre Ken Murata stood in the doorway, his dark eyes peering for a long moment. "There are horses waiting for us to take us to Juileil, its best that we leave the carriage here."

Yuuri was pushing himself upwards, his eyes flickering to Conrart and swallowing hard. There was so much that needed to be said, so much that needed to shared. However, that moment was not the best for that particular issue, not in front of so many people, no matter how close they were... some things were intensely private between the two of them.

Hopefully when they reached the safety of Lady Cecilie's ship that waited for them at the coast, they would all find a little peace.

* * *

><p><strong>Private Yacht, <em>Liberty Love<em>, Cimaron Waters**

Conrart wanted nothing more than to follow his beloved out the door, his heart aching at the emotions that were hidden in the depths of those obsidian eyes when they had looked at him. However, he knew the reason why Yuuri had led him down here. His gaze turned towards his mother, knowing that she had not seen him at the Coliseum as she had left with her husband just before the third round with the Box and several of the others.

"Conrart..." Her lips parted, the sound of his name the only one in the entire room. Wide green eyes stared in disbelief at him, taking in the powerful and changed man who stood before her. "...My son..."

He swallowed hard as he saw the first tears slowly begin to slide down her cheeks, those brilliant eyes, so much like his younger brother's, unable to do anything but stare at him. For once in his life, he was at a loss to how to respond to her, when it was obvious from the conflicting emotions flickering across her face that she too had believed him dead after the fire in the Great Demon Kingdom. "Mother." What did you say? What could he say?

"My baby... is alive..." Barely above a whisper, she stepped towards him, one hand outstretched, fingers ever so lightly brushing against the skin of one cheek, Her touch tentative, wondering, as if touching him would make him less real. Celi sighed, under her fingers, she could feel the warmth of him, the life that pulsed through his body and also the tingling rush of magic that sparked just beneath the surface, confined only by the fact that he was in human land. He was real, her beautiful boy...returned to her again.

"I'm sorry..." Guilt bit into him hard, one that he knew would not be easily lifted from him. He had not sent word that he was alive, because he had been dead inside. The son that she had once known had died within him the moment he had lost his Yuuri. The only thing that had been left to him was the predator searching for revenge for the death of its mate. "Mother... I'm so sorry... I..."

"Oh, Conrart...!" Celi's arms were suddenly flung around the man's broad shoulders, burying her face against the muscular chest, her eyes closed as she couldn't help the desperate sobs that shook her through and through.

Slowly he embraced her, one arm sliding around her shoulders and holding her to him. Head dipping, he lightly rested his cheek on top of her soft golden locks, forcing down the lump that was forming in his own throat. "Mother..." He didn't know what other words to offer to her. He was lost in that moment, set adrift, feeling his heart being torn apart by the desperate emotions that played through his only living parent.

"I thought I had truly lost you..." Her hands lifted to frame his face, tipping it down for her to gaze into the inhuman silver eyes that peered back down at her from under long chocolate locks. Fingertips brushed his hair aside, her fingers touching beside one eye, trying desperately to force her tears away. "Conrart..."

"I..." His head drooped, shoulders sagging as so much of the fight went right out of him and he leaned into her touch, seeking the comfort only his mother could offer him. "When I thought I lost Yuuri..."

Her expression softened with genuine understanding of exactly how he had felt. She had felt that way for a time about Conrart's father, a man she had loved very much. But never, however, with the sheer intensity that wove through bond between the Demon King and her son. They were made to fit together. "I do understand. I felt that same way about your Father, I loved him so much... yet... he left me..." And that had always left a painful wound upon her soul that she couldn't seem to heal until Raven had come back into her life. "I was fortunate enough that there was a man out there that loved me enough to overlook my faults and to... to find happiness with me, even though I know most of the time I am unreasonable to be around."

"You are never unreasonable, my Love." Raven commented from the doorway, his glacial blue eyes focusing on Conrart, relief and genuine affection showing in their depths. "You might never be too... predictable, but life is quite the ride in your company." His head tipped towards his step-son and he reached out to grasp his shoulder, squeezing it firmly. "And I have been privileged to be able to know each of your sons... and to now..." Raven's gaze flickered with silent hope.

Conrart nodded once in acceptance. Hand stretching out to clasp Raven's forearm, he held it for a long moment. This man had stood by them for so long and it was the one thing he could offer to him. "Father."

"Go to him." Raven whispered softly to Conrart, tipping his head towards the door to through which the King had vanished earlier. "He's in the cabin set aside for you both, I think that right now he needs you." The acceptance from his wife's middle son had warmed his heart in ways that he couldn't quite describe. Though it had been said before... this blessing coming from Conrart Weller at a time like this... really was something infinitely special to the both of them.

"We will talk later." Cecilie whispered, rubbing at her cheeks to brush away the last traces of her tears, though she knew they would not be her last that night. "Look after him, my Son. That boy has been so lost without you, help him find himself again."

"I will find him."

* * *

><p>Yuuri slowly begun to strip out of his clothing, his pants slid easily to the floor when he released the buckle on his belt. His head tipped upwards slightly, dark eyes staring into the face of a man he didn't recognise anymore. The ghost of a man stood there on the other side of the glass staring back at him, large eyes too big for a gaunt and ashen face. How had he let himself end up in such a state? How had he...?<p>

He leaned forwards against his hands, resting them against the large mirror mounted on the wall of his cabin on Cecilie's ship. He dropped his forehead against the coolness of the glass. How had he not known? How could he have not realised what Shinou had been up to? A thousand more questions beat into his head, his entire body trembling with the force of the tumbling emotions rattling around inside of his skull. There was so much within him that he felt ready to burst at the seams and explode from the pressure of it all.

_Conrart was alive. _

It still didn't quite seem real, even through the long ride, glancing back to catch sight of the man as he rode next to Adalbert and talked with the man. Even when he could feel the warmth of Conrart's presence firmly in his soul once more, spilling over from that place within his newly returned heart. He had... been so _certain_. How could he face Conrart now? Even though he craved nothing more than to climb underneath the other man's skin and remain so close that they could never be parted again... how could he face his husband knowing that he had failed to believe...

Fingers lifted to lightly brush over the pair of rings that still hung from a cord around his neck, palm slowly closing around them, knuckles going white as he squeezed them.

He had left Conrart with Lady Cel. He knew Conrart's mother needed time alone with her son. Time to welcome him back into her arms and into her life once more. Although, Yuuri was sure that by now the buxom blonde had probably pounced on her son and refusing to let him go for fear that he would vanish again if she wasn't careful. The woman had probably glued herself to his husband.

"Yuuri."

The Demon King jerked hard at the sound of that familiar voice, his head slowly lifting, catching sight of Conrart reflected in the mirror. "I thought you were dead." It was a rasping croak that escaped him. Yuuri swallowed hard, attempting to clear his throat. He felt like he couldn't move. He was just staring at that reflection of Conrart standing in the doorway to the bathroom, powerful frame dominating the opening. "I thought you had been killed when the soldiers fired on you..."

"No. You saved me... you sent Yozak and I to Big Cimaron." Silver eyes regarded Yuuri with a surprisingly quiet intensity, gaze slowly drifting over Yuuri's body, taking in what time had done to him. Pain and guilt flashed across the half-breed's face when his gaze dropped to the star shaped scar that wrapped around his right side just below his ribcage. "Yuuri..."

Yuuri's head turned away slightly, shrinking in on himself. He covered the newest of his scars with one palm, otherwise unconcerned by his nudity. "It almost killed me." His palm rubbed across the raised ridges, the sensation odd because of the fact his palm also bore a similar type of scar, the ones that had been sealed in an oath and the heat of dragon fire. "This one... did almost kill me."

The warrior stepped forwards and rested a hand against the wall to steady himself as he felt the ship begin its slow sway as they slipped out of the protection of coastal waters and onto the open ocean.

"What happened... Beloved?"

Conrart stood behind Yuuri, his arms reaching out to rest on either side of the small table before Yuuri, trapping the smaller man there between his warm solid body and the mirror. Yuuri might not have to lean into him, but he couldn't bear the separation any longer. Feeling his husband withdraw from him had been like cold water being poured over him, chilling him to the bone, leaving him desperately craving that warmth that lay somewhere within the broken shell that surrounded his beloved Yuuri.

"Con..."

If there was one thing he did know about Yuuri, it was that physical persuasion sometimes worked far better than verbal. His head dipped forwards and he brushed a soft kiss against one bare shoulder blade, stroking his lips over the pale skin leading up his lover's throat to one ear. Tongue flicking out, he teased that sensitive spot just behind it, heated air fluttering across the delicate shell. The Demon King shuddered in response, body beginning to relax despite the slight mental resistance to what was being done to him.

"Tell me." It was the softest of whispers into his lover's ear, Conrart stepping just those few more inches closer until his clothed body was pressed up lightly against Yuuri's back.

Those two simple words cracked Yuuri wide open, entire body crumbling as strong arms coiled around his waist, drawing him back into the steady strength of his husband's body. Words spilled out of him so fast that his head was practically spinning, they tumbled over one another, filling the space between them. Yuuri didn't even realise that tears were slowly streaking down his face while he told Conrart everything. Sobs wracked his entire body, eyes closing tightly as the raw anguish that he had felt for those long months filled his words.

Conrart listened, his lips touching softly against the side of his beloved's neck, his cheek pressed against the soft skin drinking in everything about his lover that had changed. It crushed him to hear Yuuri's anguished words, but they echoed his own... the same aching loneliness that had consumed them so completely. He didn't realise that he was crying as well, tears slowly streaking down over his chin and dripping onto Yuuri's bare shoulder, burning across the paleness of it.

Yuuri's words began to slow to a trickle, and then to a stop altogether. They stood like that for a long time, wrapped up together. The room was silent except for the crashing of waves against the hull of the ship.

"Your... your arm...?" The black- haired man's fingertips lightly brushed over one of the arms that wrapped around his chest and waist, sliding over the skin that was visible. "How is this possible?"

"That... is a mystery even to me." Conrart admitted softly, allowing Yuuri to pull his arm away from where it was coiled protectively around his lover and draw his left hand up to eye-level. "Yozak knows. He_ knows_ the answer and... yet he would not speak of it...My..."

"Here." A small smile came to Yuuri's lips as he tugged the cord up from where it had been resting against his chest. Carefully, he lifted it over his head and untied the knots around the two rings, allowing them to drop into his open palm. "Well... however it came to be, I'm just grateful you are safe...and with me."

Gently he slipped Conrart's onto his ring finger, a little surprised by the fact that it still fit, that the hand that rested in his own almost felt like Conrart's real one. Slipping his own on, he leaned back against that strong chest, eyes closing as their fingers laced together, their matching rings touching with a soft metallic clink.

* * *

><p>Fingertips lightly stroked over the line where flesh had been merged together, gently caressing across it, he watched as the swelling that had been forming around it slowly began to ease. He had done the same earlier for the man's wrists and ankles while he slept, drawing away the pain and repairing the damage until the skin was just healthy healing pink rather than a ragged red.<p>

Yuuri smiled a little as he watched Conrart shift in sleep, body slowly curling up against him, clearly enjoying the warm trickle of his healing magic soothing the fusion of his flesh with that of another. His free hand stretched out to tenderly caress his fingers over the mass of silky chocolate brown locks, brushing them back away from his husband's face, delighting in the way the man turned eagerly into his touch.

"Rest now." He whispered softly, drawing the blankets up around Conrart's bare shoulders and leaning forwards to drop a soft kiss against his love's temple.

Sliding across the mattress, he was about to get up when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist, preventing him from standing. Startled by the sudden grip, he turned, only to find tired silver eyes gazing up at him, a silent desperation in their startling depths. "Don't go."

"Conrart..." His brows drew together as he reached out again to caress one cheek with the back of his fingers. "I..."

"Stay... _please_." The man's voice was rough and a little hoarse from sleep, and from something else. "I..."

Yuuri dipped his head down, his mouth slowly covering Conrart's, sharing with him a heated kiss, one that made the King's toes literally curl. Groaning softly when he felt a hand curl into the back of his long braid, he felt the familiar wash of desire surge through him. Conrart was devouring him, consuming him alive and he was grateful for every moment of it. Only when both of their bodies were screaming for air did he finally lift his head upwards and swallow around the lump in his throat as he gazed into those brilliant silver eyes.

"There has been no one else." Conrart reassured him, caressing his fingers down the length of that braid, stroking over the ends of it where one of the clasps he had bought as a gift for Yuuri was tied. "I swear to you."

Rubbing noses with his lover, he smiled, allowing his tongue to brush over his husband's lower lip. He nipped it softly, tugging it up into his mouth, delighting in the taste of him. "I believe you, Beloved." The thought of being with anyone other than Conrart had been repugnant to start with. Only this man could offer him the warmth and security of his arms and body. "However... right now... I'm not much to look at..." He looked so thin, gaunt... he was sure that was extremely unappealing and he was a little shy about that fact. Even though Conrart had seen, he didn't know if he was still desirable to his husband in the state he was in.

"You are _always_ beautiful to me." Conrart slowly pushed himself upwards, both hands reaching out to tenderly capture his lover's jaw, tipping his head upwards so that he could brush another kiss against the soft, welcoming mouth. "I've wanted nothing more than to touch you again, Love."

Dipping down to drop butterfly kisses across his lover's throat and down across one shoulder, he brushed his shirt out of the way. Unbuttoning it, the fingertips of his free hand teased one nipple lightly, loving the way his beloved couldn't help but squirm in response. The shirt was soon fluttering to the floor, discarded, while Conrart rolled his lover down onto his back, throwing one leg across those slender thighs and keeping him there.

"Con..." It was a breathless little whimper, Yuuri arching up against the gentle restraint.

"I need you." The half-breed responded, his mouth finding one of those nipples and circling it with his tongue.

A moan escaped Yuuri, one hand coming up to cradle the back of his lover's head, lacing his fingers into the long chocolate strands, thumb caressing his nape, encouraging him to continue what he was doing. Heat was welling up within him when he was nipped teasingly, before that mouth shifted to the other hard bud, tormenting it and him until he was shuddering and growing hard in response to the tender treatment.

Fingers stroking over Yuuri's balls lightly, the back of his thumb stroked up the underside of that twitching length, carefully stroking over the top of it.

"I've dreamt of you..." Conrart groaned in delight as a hand snaked out to touch him in response, nails lightly scraping across his lower belly and closing around his length. He pressed into that palm, eager for any touches from Yuuri, any feeling of those scarred hands touching his body, easing the powerful ache that rested right in the centre of his chest. "I've dreamt of you so often... to have you now... it's a miracle."

"You... are the miracle." The Demon King breathed out, love in every word, his hand rubbing across his lover's nape and down along his spine and shoulder blades, feeling the play of powerful muscles rippling beneath his fingertips. So much strength rested within this man's limber frame and yet he could be so gentle, achingly gentle, with him. "I love you. I love you so much... It killed me inside being without you. It was as if someone had ripped out my heart..."

He couldn't get enough. His fingers were caressing his lover until those slender hips were bucking hard against the restraining thigh he had resting across them. Every moment was ecstasy, knowing that Yuuri was alive... was here with him. He would never allow them to be parted again. _Never again._ Two digits lightly brushed against his love's entrance softly as those slender thighs parted, his lover's face flushing with heat and arousal. Only one could slip inside, muscles coiled hot and tight around it, squeezing him, almost preventing him from moving it.

Slowly twisting his finger around, the calloused pad brushed against Yuuri's sweetspot and the slender man jerked upwards with a sudden cry of surprise, thighs parting, his hips attempting to come right off the bed though Conrart's leg kept him down. His head arched backwards against the pillow, his entire body shuddered with the force of what was being done to him. Trembling as Conrart's hand grasped his length a little more tightly and stroked over him with a far more sensual purpose. That finger continued to stroke around inside of him, setting fire to long untouched nerve endings that practically sang with the stroking.

"So tight..." Conrart groaned at the thought, though he was continuing to stroke Yuuri until he could ease in a second finger.

"Too much..."

"Just relax..." He stared hungrily down at his lover's flushed body, wanting nothing more than to taste that warm skin again. Carefully shifting his lover around, he settled to rest between his husband's thighs, drawing those slender legs up over his shoulders. He took that aching length into his mouth with one practiced movement, teeth scraping over hot skin, tongue circling the head. Instantly he was rewarded.

Yuuri came with a scream of his husband's name, body convulsing amongst the sheets, one hand clutching at the back of his head as he lifted upwards. The man swallowed quite eagerly, licking up every drop as it spilled into his mouth. Slumping back into the sheets, the King's muscles quivered as they attempted to clench around the two digits, the man gasped as a third pressed inside of him, stretching him slowly while he lay there half sated, his length stirring again.

"Do you know how much I long to claim you?" Conrart's voice was rough as he slowly withdrew his fingers from inside that tight passage and replaced it with his mouth. Tongue flicking out over the sensitive muscles of his lover's entrance, he circled it slowly, his hand sliding around that hardening length and stroking him slowly, not wanting him to come again quite yet. "I love being inside of you... taking you until you beg me to let you come... you're so beautiful." His fingers caressed silky soft skin, feeling the faint edges of each scar that marked that warm body. "However, we have all night, Lover, for me to prove just how much I have missed you..."

Once would not be enough for either of them, especially not tonight.

A tiny whimper escaped Yuuri's throat, as he surrendered completely, giving himself freely to Conrart without hesitation.

"Come here, Love."

Conrart allowed those slender legs to drop from his shoulders to around his waist, gently lifting his lover so that he straddled his lap as he knelt on the bed. One arm slipped around the back of those slim thighs to support the insubstantial weight of his husband, the other stroking up along his spine and hugging him close. He needed the contact, craved the feeling of those arms wrapping tightly around him, clinging to him and Yuuri did just that.

The younger man reached beneath him and gasped Conrart's hard length in that warm, scarred palm, stroking over it hotly, rubbing a finger against the tip, before lifting his hips. Both of them shuddered at the first contact between the half-breed's hot stiff flesh and the King's entrance. It was a long hot slide as Yuuri allowed his weight to carry him downwards, his head burying itself against his husband's throat, hot little pants of air tickling his skin as he felt his lover sliding into him.

Their joining was a slow thing, skin sliding against hot skin, creating a delicious kind of friction between their bodies. Conrart's mouth slowly brushed little kisses across the racing pulse along the length of that lovely, pale neck, unable to resist the urge to nip harder, leaving tiny love bites on the white skin, wanting all to know exactly who Yuuri belonged to. Their bodies trembled with the force of their increasing need, the lazy thrust of his length deep into Yuuri's body wasn't enough.

"Conrart...!" It was a muffled plea, one that begged for more. Fingernails scratched his back pleadingly, trying to pull him closer, biting a little into the man's shoulder blades in encouragement.

They fell backwards, Yuuri bouncing slightly on the mattress beneath Conrart, his limbs curling more tightly around his lover. Crying out when Conrart thrust in deep and hard, his back arched, body shuddering with each swift motion. He was on fire inside, that hot stiffness rubbing along every nerve ending he seemed to possess. The younger man clung tightly to his lover, ankles locked around the back of those strong thighs, while the man practically devoured him whole.

One hand closed around his length, stroking it in time with those powerful thrusts, fingernails grazing along the shaft and teasing the head. His thumb rubbed across the slit, spreading around the tiny droplets that formed there.

Muscles clenched tightly around Conrart's length, pulling him in deeper, forcing him to push even harder to get as far as he could within his lover's tight, eager channel. The friction was too much, even for him.

Yuuri came with a sharp cry of pleasure, face burying itself against Conrart's neck as the man followed only a second later, spilling himself into Yuuri. Panting hard, his entire body shook with the force of his climax, his hips still moving, his seed making his lover even slicker.

"I love you." Yuuri breathed out, gazing up into that beautiful pair of silver eyes. "My Conrart... Love you so much..."

"As I do you." Their foreheads touched lightly as he demonstrated just how much he did love his Yuuri.

* * *

><p>A cold sea breeze whipped up over the rail, chilling him right to the bone as it blasted right through his heavy jacket and shirt. He crossed his arms over his coat and swallowed hard as he gazed out at the slowly fading lights of the Cimaron coastline. The ship moved swiftly through the freezing waters, slowly turning south back towards Caloria, in order to return Lady Flynn and Alford Mackinner, and check in on the restoration efforts.<p>

"I assume you don't know exactly who that man is."

Ken Murata's head turned, and he glanced back over his shoulder at the tall warrior who stood on the deck only a few yards away. Adalbert towered over the Great Sage, his intense blue eyes glinting in the light from a nearby lantern that swung slowly with the sway of the ship. There was something fierce about the man, but it was a different type of intensity from that he had seen in Conrart Weller's silver eyes...

A finger pushed up the pair of glasses that had slid down his nose, his chin tipping up, his gaze narrowing on the predator that stood so close to him. This man was more like a wolf, stalking its prey, circling it slowly, until it could find a weakness to exploit. However, this man was extremely protective of not only his woman, Gisela Von Christ, but also of the King. "I do not know to whom you refer."

"Gurrier Yozak." Blue eyes narrowed, and his powerful jaw clenched as Adalbert snapped out that name.

"That is a matter..."

Adalbert's fist came down sharply on the railing, the wood groaning in protest at the force behind the blow. "This concerns _all_ of us."

"I told him nothing." Nothing pertaining to Yuuri or the mission, but he had told him other things, spoken of things that no one else in his life had ever known.

"He was one of those protecting the King and the Prince when they were heading to Voltaire Castle for their honeymoon. He was there when the King was almost killed. He has held a deep grudge against his Highness since his arrival." Adalbert's expression darkened as he gazed down at the Great Sage, seeing a hint in the man's face that told him that something extremely important had actually passed between this man and the traitor. "He is a traitor."

"No." The single word escaped him before he could stop it, his jaw clenching, fingers curling into fists. Gurrier was not a traitor, he was certain of it. "He's isn't."

"He drew a sword against the King."

"And haven't you?" Ken Murata countered sharply, his face darkening with the first surprising flickers of anger. It roiled around within his gut, a hot, smouldering mass that he couldn't seem to extinguish. "Haven't you attempted to murder him before, Lord Adalbert Von Grantz?"

The big man actually staggered back a step at that particular accusation, knowing just how true it was. It struck him harshly, like a physical blow, something that reminded him that no matter what he did now... he would not be able to erase the truth of what he had almost done. "And I regret that choice every day of my life, I will wear that stain upon my honour for the rest of my days. However, I am the Captain of the King's guard and I will not allow another to harm him as I almost did." He towered over the Great Sage, eyes shimmering with deadly promise, one could so easily be aimed at Ken Murata if he wasn't careful. "Now, _explain_ yourself."

"All you need to know is." The man stood defiantly against Adalbert, not about to be cowed by anyone over what he had done. "Is that he saved my life. The rest is between him and myself. I will give you my promise now that I will not allow this to impact upon Shibuya... but..." There was something dangerous in those dark eyes, something that spoke of things that Adalbert could only dream of. "If you think of harming him, Adalbert Von Grantz, you will learn just what a dangerous enemy I can be."

"You would protect a traitor."

"I would protect a man who would risk himself to save someone like me." Slowly Ken Murata turned away from the Demon Tribesman, his gaze turning back towards where he knew the coast of Big Cimaron had to be. Adalbert hadn't seen what Ken had in those grey-blue eyes, a guilt that weighed upon the man's soul, one that simple treachery wouldn't cause.

"Be careful who you trust, Excellency. Not all motives are so easy to see." Adalbert Von Grantz stepped back, knowing now that challenging someone like Ken Murata was far more dangerous than anyone might imagine. "And hearts are easily broken."

Ken let his head drop against his hands as he stood there in the bitter cold, his shoulders slumping. He heard the other man walk away, and he swallowed hard around the lump that had formed in his throat. He could feel it, the strangling weight of understanding settling down around him. It had happened again. Even though he had promised himself a thousand times over it would never happen again... his heart had turned traitor against him.

A hand covered his mouth, holding in a ragged sob, as his entire body shook with the force of that heart-rending revelation.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed this!<strong>


	36. Part 36: Religion

**Author's Note: I apologise to everyone over the delay for the release of this chapter. However! I have good reason. University started back this week and well life has to take precedence in this case so this chapter had to wait until I could finish sorting out all of my six classes. I will definitely try to see if I can get the next chapter up much faster, but I will be slower in the future until midsession break for writing this story. (Though my beta has told me I'm still one of the fastest updaters she knows when it comes to stories). Hope you enjoy this chapter and the few surprises it has for you! **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but the name of the ship XD. **

* * *

><p><strong>Private Yacht, <em>Liberty Love<em>, Cimaron Waters**

Conrart's arms coiled a little more tightly around Yuuri, his face nuzzling into the nape of the younger man's neck, enjoying the scent of his lover. He felt like he'd never be able to get enough of it. _Two and a half weeks. _And still he hungered for Yuuri more than ever before. He had barely let the man leave the bed they shared for more than just a few hours at a time. He splayed fingers of one hand across his lover's stomach and up along his ribcage, stroking over it, relieved to find that he could no longer feel each rib sticking out prominently beneath the pale flesh.

It would take time to repair the damage, both physical and mental, done to both of them.

"I can hear you thinking." Yuuri groaned softly, snuggling back a little more into Conrart's arms, feeling them tighten around him possessively and he sighed with contentment. "You should get some rest before we make landfall."

"I would rather..."

"Sometimes you are a little too stubborn." The King teased softly, turning around in his lover's embrace and running his hand up along the man's arm and shoulder, a thumb caressing the newest of the man's scars where flesh had been blended together. However, his expression softened and he allowed his palm to travel up to rest against the back of his lover's head and draw him in for a warm kiss, their foreheads touching lightly. "The nightmares?"

The man's shoulders collapsed in closer to his body and he drew Yuuri just that touch nearer, allowing the warmth of his husband's body to reassure himself he wouldn't disappear during the time he rested. "I should be beyond this. I should..." Fingertips stroked along the curve of his back and distracted him when they brushed lower over his rear, grasping him intimately and drawing him closer.

"Sweetheart." Yuuri slowly brushed his lips across the curve of Conrart's jaw, tongue flicking out softly across the warm, lightly stubbled skin. "Do not attempt to demean yourself." Conrart had suffered from the nightmares for a significant time during their relationship. Having his sleep disturbed so frequently by them left the man edgy and barely able to rest, until Yuuri had started bringing them herbal tea to ease both of their sleeps.

Kissing the corner of his mouth, he slowly shifted upwards, only to feel hands grip him more firmly, unwilling to release him. Yuuri rubbed the tips of their noses together playfully. "Tea. I think we can both use a cup."

Conrart's fingers trembled slightly, the man's silvery eyes darkening for a moment and he swallowed hard. Reluctantly his hands slowly began to ease away from his husband's body, palms stroking across pale skin before dropping onto the sheets. He sat up, his back rested against the headboard, his expression a little strained.

Kneeling on the side of the bed, he curled his scarred hands around Conrart's, drawing them up against his own cheeks and pressing against them there. Feeling the play of calluses against his skin and the smooth warmth of the man's ring, their eyes met steadily. "I'm still here." He breathed out softly. "I'm right here, my Prince."

"_Yuuri_." He choked on the man's name, his touch gentling as he caressed his lover's face lightly, sweeping back the loose tumble of raven locks that spilled across the man's pale face and throat. "I..."

"I love you." Yuuri whispered softly, kissing the tip of Conrart's nose and leaning into the soft touches, allowing his husband to find reassurance in the contact between them.

Those silver eyes watched him for a long moment, before closing, finally allowing his hands to drop away from Yuuri's body, reluctantly surrendering physical contact. "Two weeks... and I still..."

"I'm like that too. I think it will take us time... probably a long time to be able to shake this... feeling... But we will together."

* * *

><p>Yuuri leaned against the railing of the ship, gazing out across the familiar city and docks with a relieved smile, feeling the warmth slowly spread through him at the thought that he was finally home. It surprised him just how much he had missed it, and how much he longed to never leave it again. "Home." He sighed softly, expression softening as he gazed over the few onlookers that had come out to watch Lady Cecilie's ship land.<p>

Conrart stepped up behind Yuuri, arms coiling around his waist, leaning into him slightly. His head dipped down to ever so lightly brush his lips against the bare nape of his beloved's neck. The long raven braid rested down over one shoulder, running all the way down to tickle the back of Conrart's hands as they spread across his stomach.

"Is this what it feels like...?" His voice was muffled against Yuuri's skin as his arms tightened around his husband feeling that slow trickle that had started only a few hours before become a flood, rushing through his body and pooling in all those empty places within. Jolting in surprise, Conrart's silvery eyes closed tightly, body pressing into the heat of his husband's, finding reassurance in the hands that covered his own, their fingers lacing together. "Is this... what it felt like for you when you first arrived?"

"Yes." They had talked about it privately, about the fact that over time Conrart had slowly gained the use of magic. It was extremely unstable and the power of it was on the level of both Gwendal's and Wolfram's. However, where they had been born with theirs, Conrart's had begun to manifest itself because of what they supposed was exposure to Yuuri's own high levels of power. That exposure seemed to have catalysed the half-breed's own dormant potential. "We'll do this together." Squeezing Conrart's fingers, he tipped his head to the side and their mouths met in a heated kiss, one that expressed the deep love that they both had for each other.

The King's Consort could never express adequately just how much those simple words meant to him. How much it was worth to know that he had someone that loved him no matter what, right there beside him. "Thank you." It was all he could get out, his face turning into the curve of his lover's neck and just holding on tightly, not wanting to let go.

"I'm quite ready to get off this ship." Stretching, Yuuri let out a sigh, turning in Conrart's arms and rubbing his nose against the underside of Conrart's jaw. He dropped a kiss against his Adam's apple, which bobbed under the intimate caress. "Though I will miss your 'stay in bed' policy from this trip."

"I will find a way to get you there again..." Conrart chuckled, silver eyes sparkling with amusement as his hands drifted down to brush over Yuuri's rear lightly, giving it a playful squeeze and drawing the man firmly up against him, their hips brushing. "Mark my words... I'm always fond of a challenge, especially when it involves you, a bed... and no clothing what so ever."

Yuuri couldn't help but laugh at that, pouncing on his husband, arms and legs wrapping around the strong body and devouring that grinning mouth. He groaned at the taste of him, feeling hands stroke along his backside and cupping his thighs, supporting his weight for a few long moments as he returned the kiss hungrily. The Demon King let out a cry of delight when Conrart spun him around, his arms tightening around his husband's shoulders, his head tipping back as the man held him close, their hearts racing in time.

Joy filled the two men, their evident affection for each other showing as others watched on silently, relief on several faces to see them like that.

Adalbert wrapped his arm more tightly around Gisela, his lips touching ever so gently against her temple. A small smile coming to his own lips as relief settled in his heart.

"Such happiness." Cecilie Von Spitzweg whispered softly while she watched her son and his husband together, her fingers spread across her belly, the fact that she was pregnant having become obvious over the past few weeks. "Whenever they are happy... everyone around them..." She wanted to laugh as well, a bubble of warmth spreading through her, as Raven joined her. "Hopefully Gwendal will forgive us for not alerting him to this..."

"Adalbert, Conrart and his Majesty agreed it was best not to send any messages about our arrival to protect the safety of his Majesty. Gwendal will hopefully understand our need for caution." Raven stood beside her, the four of them watching the King and his Consort by the rail of the ship, glad to see them out and about rather than practically locked up in their cabin.

"Speak of that particular Demon..." Adalbert's head tipped to the side, gazing down at the docks where a familiar rider galloped up towards where a gangplank was being fitted to the side of the ship. "This is going to be _quite_ interesting."

* * *

><p><strong>The Docks, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Gwendal Von Voltaire tightened his grip on the reins of his mount at the sight of the ship that sat in the main harbour in the berth usually reserved for the use of the Demon King. His mother's ship sat there now, peaceful and untouched by anything. A strange surge of relief escaped him at the sight, of knowing that his mother was finally back where she belonged, that she was safe. However the fact remained that the Demon King was missing and he could not get any hint as to where the man had gone in Big Cimaron. No message had been sent... no sightings had been made since the rather spectacular outburst was witnessed from a distance when the entire Lambeil Coliseum had been razed literally to the ground.

The beautiful blonde woman slowly descended the gangplank, Raven at her side, steadying each of her steps with the attentiveness of a man deeply in love. They looked good together... there was a glow around his mother, a softness to her features that was usually not there, one he had seen twice before.

As he swung off his mount and stood amongst his men, he gazed at his mother as she stepped past the shielding gangplank and he was able to see that she was indeed once again pregnant. A vicious pang ran through his gut at the sight, the knowledge that Conrart would have been overjoyed by the news, that he would have shown his delight without restraint, like he had over Wolfram's birth. Grief filled him at the knowledge that his brother would not be able to see this child born, would not even know of their newest sibling's existence.

"Mother." He reached out a hand towards her, his expression showing nothing of the deep gaping wounds that were within him, those that had been caused when he had lost his younger brother. "..._Mother_..." His voice actually cracked, his broad shoulders shaking suddenly, the tight control he had on his emotions vanishing.

The moment Cecilie was close enough, she was startled when she was pulled into a tight embrace, her slender body being practically swallowed up by the arms that coiled tightly around her. "Gwen?" She was startled by the fierceness of his embrace, the sudden dampness she felt against her cheek, as she felt a single tear streak down over the warm skin and was startled to realise it was not her own.

"How can he be gone?" It was a rough, hoarse rasp, one torn from deep within him, his fingers bunching in the fabric of her dress, his entire body beginning to shake so violently that he could barely keep himself together. It had been decades since something had fractured him like this, taken him apart and left every piece of him scattered across the floors of Covenant Castle. "How... can he be truly gone? That _stubborn_..."

"Gwen..." Cecilie attempted to pull herself away enough to be able to look at him, however he didn't allow her too, just holding her protectively against him, needing to feel the warmth of her... he needed his mother, her presence filling his fractured soul. "Gwenie..."

"Brother." Conrart stood only a few yards away, his silver eyes fixed on the face of his older brother and feeling a jolt of surprise at seeing the stray tears slowly streaking down over the man's face.

Gwendal's entire body shook with such force that his teeth clicked together as his head snapped up and he stared at the man. He swayed in disbelief, staggering backwards away from Cecilie, while his brain attempted to connect back with reality and he found that he couldn't. The powerfully built nobleman could do nothing but gawk like a little boy, jaw going slack and looking ready to drop to the cobblestones beneath his boots.

"Gwendal..." Conrart's expression grew concerned the moment he actually saw his brother swaying on his feet. "**Gwendal!**" Catching his taller brother by the shoulders, he steadied him, gripping him firmly and gazing into the dazed dark blue eyes that stared down at him with a look that he couldn't quite describe.

"You're dead." He whispered softly, long hair falling across his eyes as his hands slowly lifted to brush against Conrart's forearms, feeling the warmth of his flesh just beneath the sleeves of his uniform, the strength in that grip. "We found your arm... but... you're..." A ragged sob escaped Gwendal, his expression splitting open and revealing the man within for several vulnerable moments.

The younger man was abruptly hauled into a crushing embrace, Gwendal embracing Conrart as if his very life depended upon it. The air whooshed audibly out of the half-breed's lungs as he was bear-hugged right in front of everyone. Gwendal didn't care about anything other than just holding his younger brother close and showing him exactly what rested in his heart.

"I do love you, Little Brother." He breathed out against the chocolate brown locks that tickled just beneath his chin. "I might not say it... but I do. The thought of losing you..." A ragged sound escaped the man, his eyes closing against the burn of tears that were slowly trickling down over his cheeks and dampening Conrart's hair. "Don't ever do that to me again." His hands lifted to grip Conrart's face between large palms, their foreheads touching. "Don't you _**ever**_ do that to me again...!"

The younger man swallowed around the odd lump that had formed in the back of his throat at the sight of his stoic brother's tears. One hand trembled as it rose to lightly catch one tear on a fingertip, brushing them away and knowing in that moment just how much his half-brother truly meant those words. It was in that one moment alone that he got a real sense of just how much his brother truly did love him, despite all of his stiffness towards him in the past.

"I love you too, Gwendal. _Brother_..." He whispered the word affectionately, feeling a smile slowly come to his lips, his emotions spilling over within him too. "A little thing like this would never keep me down for long." He tried to tease, but just ended up in another bear hug, his own arms wrapping around the broad shoulders of his brother, keeping him there.

Just over one of Gwendal's shoulders, Conrart could see Yuuri standing there with Adalbert just behind him, a smile on his husband's face, those dark eyes reflecting his own relief.

* * *

><p><strong>The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The precession was winding its way along the long road towards the Capital, the many members of their party spread out behind where Yuuri and Conrart were being escorted by a dozen armed guards. However, Yuuri's horse was abruptly pulled to a halt, startling many of those around him as the King's eyes fixed on the Tomb that rested upon one of the hills they were approaching, its hexagonal shape distinctive against the thick surrounding wash of greenery.

"Shibuya." Ken Murata leaned a little where he sat on the horse behind Adalbert, his dark brows drawing together as he studied the stoic face of their Demon King. His hand reached out towards him, lightly brushing against one shoulder before his touch was shrugged away, blazing obsidian eyes swinging around towards him and he almost recoiled from the hatred that burned in that steady gaze. "Shibuya... don't."

"I cannot ignore what he has done." It was an ice cold snarl, one that came from the very core of the Demon King. Sparks of dark fire blazed like smouldering coals within them, the dragon that existed within the body of the Demon King peering out through that gaze and reflecting its Master's rage- one that had gone unsated in Big Cimaron several weeks before. "I cannot ignore the fact that he thinks that he can control me and not feel the consequences of his actions."

"I'm warning you... don't make an..."

"He crossed the line, one he understood and was made _plainly_ clear to him before Caloria."

"Shibuya!"

"He will learn I am no small weakling to do his bidding without question. He picked me to be Demon King. He engineered my birth and therefore he should have known what he was getting into." Yuuri's jaw gritted tightly. "He has much to answer for."

* * *

><p><strong>The Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Sire!" One of the maidens immediately opened the gates to allow him entrance into the Tomb of the Great One, however, her eyes widened at the expression that was etched on the King's face.

"Gather all the priestesses and guards and leave immediately." It was a harsh order, his steps only faltering for a moment, his magic roiling and rippling around him, the ground trembling ever so slightly beneath his boots. "Find Lady Ulrike and escort her to safety."

"My Lord... Lady Ulrike cannot leave..."

"You will do as you are ordered." All softness had left the man, all joy or affection that usually came to him whenever he had previously visited this Tomb had evaporated with the full depths of his fury at what Shinou had done to both himself and Conrart.

"Yes... Majesty..." The shrine maiden hurried away, her shoulders hunched, speaking in quiet whispers to all that approached her, her eyes darting about , looking for ways to get away from the danger His Majesty so obviously represented to the Tomb. Then she caught sight of Conrart Weller hovering in the shadows, following behind the Demon King. He was clearly ready to make sure none interfered with his Highness.

The earth rolled a little, the entire hillside rippling and surging beneath everyone as magical powers flooded into the landscape, bringing it alive like it never had been before. The once-bright sunshine was abruptly blotted out by the waves of storm heads rising over the surrounding horizons and beginning to converge on the Tomb of the Great One. Thunder rumbled across the countryside, rattling windows in their frames, lightning splitting the heavens open. Arches of blue electricity leapt from cloud to cloud, illuminating the storm clouds from within like some macabre theatre.

The priestesses were hurrying out each of the other exits into the surrounding gardens, their personal belongings clutched in their arms, their faces showing their fear of what was to come. It would become very obvious to all the reasons for the Demon King's rage... and this was the first time it had come so publically to bear against the Great One from any of his chosen Kings.

Yuuri strode through the corridors, his boots sounding loudly against the stone, his pace quickening with every heartbeat. His obsidian eyes were smouldering hot and narrowed on the eight hundred year old head priestess who stood in his way before the stairs that would lead him down into the main hall that sat just beneath the fountain at the heart of the building.

Her lavender eyes sparked with determination, but her expression was deeply troubled. "You must leave at once, your Majesty... you are..."

_"He will see me." _

"At present he wishes..."

_**"I DO NOT CARE WHAT HE WISHES!" **_The Demon King positively roared the words, the dragon that was curled within him was desperate to escape, snarling practically right beneath his skin, ready to come into flaming existence within the blink of an eye if allowed.

"Majesty... I beg of you... don't do this..." Her hands reached out towards him placatingly, her gaze however was fixed on the one man who might be able to stop this particular situation with only a single word.

Conrart Weller stood a few yards behind Yuuri, his blazing silver eyes shimmering with his own inner magic, something wild and quite uncontrollable, just like the man himself. There was no softness to his features, no indication that he would prevent Yuuri from doing what he will. He was as unmoveable as stone, a shadow determined to protect the King.

_"Step aside." _

And extremely reluctantly Ulrike did so, knowing that while this man would never hurt her, he would still find a way past her. Standing to one side of the stairwell, she bowed her head in respect to him, her hands clasped together in prayer. "Let the Great One forgive you, Majesty."

Striding forwards, the twenty-seventh Demon King of the Great Demon Kingdom descended into the darkness that rested at the heart of the Tomb. Down the stairs and along the twisting corridors, he was following the flow of darkness that was seeping from the inner most sanctum of the man who had brought him originally to this Kingdom.

A blast of power slammed against the massive reinforced doors, forcing them open, striking the walls with such an impact that the wood splintered and cracked. The roiling azure blue aura shimmered around Yuuri's body, his entire form illuminated by it and he stood there in the doorway, his jaw clenching as he gazed along the carpet lined with flickering candles towards the two Boxes that now stood on the dais there.

The air was rank, a sickly odour of death washed outwards from those vessels which contained such great evil that it tainted everything it touched, including the very atmosphere around it.

_"I would have done as you requested of me." _Yuuri's voice rang out through the open space, the candles flickering and being extinguished by the breeze that wrapped itself around the King's body, protecting him against the darkness that seeped across the stone floors, sliding up the walls and staining the stone black.

Moving forwards into the space, Yuuri allowed the dragon's fire to spill out of him to incinerate the shapeless things that attempted to attach themselves to his aura of magic. The sizzle of those bodies was audible, the stench of seared flesh and burning carpets added to the nauseating atmosphere.

_"Do not ignore me." _He snarled, his hands stretching out to take in the space, his expression darkening with each passing moment that his words went unanswered by the man he knew was there watching them both. _"I am not some child to be cowed by you."_

**"You should learn respect, Boy." **A dark shadow separated itself from the nearest wall, sweeping forwards through the dark chaos of the wiggling writhing things that literally covered every inch of the chamber. **"You know the story of the man who defied me."**

_"I do. However."_ And slowly Yuuri released his grip on the dragon that had been restrained for far too long within him, the creature separating from the Demon King with a howling roar of rage, its blazing eyes fixed on the cloaked figure of the Great One, its massive jaws opening, revealing rows of razor sharp fangs. _"I will not stand idly by and allow you to manipulate people for your own desires and whims. You gave me the power to protect this Kingdom and you have to respect that decision."_

The beast released tendrils of smoke from its nostrils, its restrained rage expressing all of what had been bottled up within Yuuri upon the discovery of what this 'man' had done to them to further his own plans.

_"I warned you to not overstep your rights." _However, his eyes narrowed on the shadow swathed in the tainted darkness that swarmed around the two Forbidden Boxes that had been returned to the Great Demon Kingdom. _"I can feel it."_ Yuuri whispered, obsidian eyes narrowing on the Great One. _"I can see it. Darkness... it strains you... it reaches right into the very core of your soul. I may not yet understand how it has come to be or your plot for these Boxes... but I will tell you now. Once these Boxes are gathered, I will destroy them by any means necessary. I will purge this sickness from our land and from you."_

A low animalistic sound escaped Shinou, the man's features slowly beginning to distort and twist beneath the edge of his thick hood, revealing the monster that had been residing in the walls of this Tomb. **"You think to oppose me?"** The creature stepped forwards into the light of several of the flickering and sputtering candles, revealing the horribly twisted features of the man who had been masquerading as the Great One. **"You foolish creature, you are no match for me." **

_"Yes, I think I am. I will stand against you." _The Demon King's expression was stoic as the dragon unleashed a wash of dragon fire on the creatures that filled the enclosed space, incinerating several of the larger writhing bundles of quivering flesh which was trying to take human shape. _"I __**will**__ stand against you until the life is extinguished from my body and my soul is no more."_

Conrart moved forwards, his large body standing at Yuuri's back, his arms slowly curling around the Demon King, his head dipping downwards and pressing a kiss against his beloved's throat tenderly. The fire sparked by the dragon was being fed by the rush of wind that tore its way through every entranceway, drawn in by Conrart, the fresh air bringing with it oxygen and feeding the hungry inferno that was blossoming before them.

And as the entire chamber erupted, the pair stood protectively within a shimmering water barrier as the place was being slowly cleansed of the darkness that had escaped the pair of Boxes. The hungry flames licked across every creature and even the body of the monster that had stolen Shinou's form and had been masquerading at the Great One from the very beginning.

Conrart had spoken on their trip from Big Cimaron about his encounter with Shinou in the dungeons of Lambeil Palace, unable to explain exactly what he had seen and why the Great One had been so secretive and almost... afraid of something that was hunting him. It had been thought the long hours of the voyage that they had come to a conclusion... one that shook the foundation of so much they had once taken for granted.

The Originators had not remained within the Boxes, but had somehow managed to get a foothold into this plain of existence through Shinou and this Tomb which had been built to hold his soul like a soul jar, though on a much more elaborate scale. It explained why Yuuri had not been able to access his powers that horrible day when they had been caught in the burning church and separated. It explained why Yuuri had not been able to sense Conrart and for a long time Conrart had not been able to sense Yuuri, the two of them unaware of each other.

Shinou himself was in there somewhere, consumed by this thick blackness... by the horrors that were contained within these Forbidden Boxes that had almost destroyed several nations that had held them. One had brought severe drought to Conansia Svelera and strife to Schildkraut, while the other had brought bad fortune to Caloria and other surrounding nations.

Slowly the fires crept up along the walls, licking at the ceiling high above, the temperature so high that the very stone was blackened by the sheer heat. The Dragon tore apart the creatures infesting the chamber that been forced up out of the bedrock by the power of Yuuri and Conrart's combined magic. Every object within the space warped and twisted in the inferno, but the Boxes and them...

The dark twisting tendrils that had snaked out of them were scorched now and being forced back, Yuuri beginning to weave a barrier spell around it as the dark shadow evaporated into swirling eddies of black smoke and soot. It was only a temporary measure, one to buy them enough time to work out some way to destroy the Boxes and the Originators within.

Amongst the dancing flames, for only a split second, Yuuri thought he saw a man silhouetted in the raging flames, his blue eyes relieved, his hand outstretched in a gesture of silent thanks, before he too evaporated into the blistering hot air within the chamber.

It was allowed to die slowly, the walls glowing with the after-effects of the cleansing.

No one could know about this. No one could know that one of the very symbols of their great Kingdom had been tainted like this... it was reason why Yuuri had made it clear to all that he believed Shinou responsible for what had happened between himself and Conrart and not that the Originators had returned. That knowledge would cause chaos and panic, all of which would distract them and allow that darkness to seep far more quickly into the hearts and minds of those in the capital.

"Silence." Yuuri whispered as the wind blew the ashes of those incinerated black creatures away, "_Silence_..."

"And in the end... that's all there seems to be." Conrart responded, his arms cradling Yuuri more tightly to him, their bodies trembling together in the aftermath of what they had done together as the dragon peered back at them from where it stood near the Boxes, all of them aware that the Great Demon Kingdom might just be running out of time.

* * *

><p><strong>Hills Above The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Sunshine spilled down over the grassy slopes beyond the thick woods that crowded the surrounding hills, warming the damp grass beneath the blanket and the tawny skin of the soldier's back. Conrart's cheek rested against his folded arms, his shirt and sword resting nearby within arm's reach. Sleep had quickly taken him, the heat of the sun on his back lulling him into a delicious daze and now he slept peacefully, knowing he could do so because of the man seated beside him.

Yuuri couldn't help but watch his lover drift into sleep like that, the man so trusting, so willing to believe in him and his skills to protect them both that he had relaxed enough to actually rest. He truly was beautiful like that, _flawless_ in Yuuri's eyes. One palm reached out to slowly caress along one shoulder blade, fingertips stroking along the indentation of the man's spine, tracing each vertebrae delicately. The action roused Conrart just a little, his body shifting into the caresses, a sleepy smile coming to his well-formed mouth, but he soon settled again when a soft kiss touched against his lips.

They had their privacy, the guards that had followed them, not looking in their direction, knowing that moments like this were reserved for private encounters between their King and his Consort.

Fingertips glided all the way down to the edge of the man's pants. Yuuri was glad that the man's belt had been removed earlier with his sword. Leaning over Conrart, both hands ever so gently reached beneath the man, supporting his hips for just a moment, enough to free the top two buttons and slip the fabric downwards just far enough to press a kiss to the small of his back. His tongue flicked out across the sun-warmed skin, lapping up the slight perspiration that had formed just there. Nuzzling him, he smiled.

Shifting a little, his hands closed around one booted foot, carefully tugging it off the knee-high riding boot, before the woollen sock followed. The King repeating the action with Conrart's other boot. Caressing over calves and the back of the man's knees, he couldn't help the small grin that came to his lips when the man's hips shifted restlessly as his palms rubbed across the back of those powerful thighs through the fabric of his pants.

Hands sliding up over that well-formed rear, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of his lover's trousers and drew them down and off, taking his time to slide them out from under his lover's legs and down off over his ankles and feet. Conrart lay naked across the blanket, his long lithe form stretched out, and Yuuri couldn't help but notice that the man looked quite contented like that.

"Beautiful." Yuuri breathed out, his fingertips slowly beginning to slide down over one flank, his head dipped and he couldn't help but brush tiny butterfly kisses across the man's back and each scar he knew by memory alone. "You are so beautiful, Conrart." Brushing back the long locks that spilled down around the man's face and shoulders, he kissed the corner of those soft, pliant lips.

The King let out a sound of surprise when a large hand curled around the nape of his neck and laced into his hair, pulling his head back down for a fierce and rather intense kiss. A skilful tongue slipped between his lips and plundered Yuuri's mouth without shame, practically devouring him from the inside out, stealing all the air from his lungs. The younger man was flushed and panting hard when his beloved finally let him pull back just an inch. Conrart's hot tongue brushing across his lower lip slowly, teasing him playfully.

"You were _awake_!" Yuuri huffed, lightly thumping his husband on the arm as the man rolled over onto his back, long legs stretching out with one arm tucked behind his head without a care in the world for his unclothed state.

"The whole time." Conrart added, laughter sparkling in the man's silver eyes.

"The whole...!"

Conrart's pants were suddenly flung into the man's smirking face as Yuuri shifted to stand, chin lifting in playful defiance. It was all a delicious game, one that they had played before.

However, Yuuri didn't get far at all, only to his feet as powerful arms wrapped around his hips from behind, Conrart having rolled up onto his knees, his face buried against the small of Yuuri's back. Hands had loosened Yuuri's belt quickly and tugged the fabric down so that he could press a kiss against the base of his spine, lapping over the skin and sending a shudder rippling up through the younger man.

"What did you want to do to me, Love?" Voice muffled a little against Yuuri's skin, Conrart's hands slipped upwards under the white shirt, and his fingertips found hard nipples. Thumbs pressed against them and rubbed, his arms keeping his lover from escaping his grip on him.

"I wanted to taste you..." He breathed out, eyes drifting closed as he relished the sensations, allowing all other thoughts to drift away from him, to only think about the man resting on his knees behind him. "Touch every inch of your body..." Groaning, his eyes closed tightly for a moment, entire body shuddering with what Conrart was doing to him.

Conrart slowly turned his lover around in his arms to face him, his mouth trailing across Yuuri's thighs and hips, nipping gently at the pale skin, delighting in the tiny shivers that it sent skittering up through his beloved. Hooking one shoulder beneath Yuuri's thigh, he suddenly lifted upwards, drawing Yuuri forwards so that his legs were spread over Conrart's head and the man's hands were forced to settle on Conrart's shoulders to keep himself upright.

Yuuri cried out abruptly when a mouth abruptly touched against his most intimate of places, his fingers immediately curling tightly into Conrart's shoulders as that skilful tongue teased him. "What are you... _Con_...!" It was almost a wail, his body almost ending up dropping to the ground when his leg almost gave out under him, but a strong hand hooked beneath his free thigh, supporting him.

Silky locks tickled against the underside of Yuuri's balls lightly and down along his thighs in the most erotic little caresses that did leave him quivering helplessly. However, that tongue speared upwards, lapping at the tight muscles and slowly spreading them, driving it all the way inside until the tip brushed against Yuuri's sweetspot and rubbed against it.

Heat flushed up along the King's cheeks, his entire body trembling as he desperately fought the urge to come just there and then. His length twitched against his belly, his breathing coming in ragged little gasps, while he reached down and touched himself. A whimper slipped out, rising from deep within him as he gave his length a squeeze, thumb stroking the tip and heard Conrart's low chuckle as he realised what he was doing. The vibrations made the King jerk sharply, softly pleading with his lover to continue what he was doing.

"You're beautiful when you're aroused." Conrart slowly shifted Yuuri into his arms, cradling the man against him, his mouth brushing along the length of his navel and upwards to nip lightly at a nipple playfully. A fingertip caressed one flushed cheekbone softly, before drifting to those damp lips that parted under his touch. "When you want me to take you from behind..."

Yuuri leaned forwards and sucked on that finger lightly, teeth and tongue teasing over the sensitive pad of it, delighting in the way those silver eyes darkened to an almost steel grey. He was reluctant to release that digit, but whimpered when it drifted down along his spine and between his cheeks and up into him, slipping in easily and stroking his sweetspot nimbly. "Yes..." He practically moaned with delight, while he was being tormented by that digit, hips arching back into the motion eagerly.

"_Mine_."

The single word seemed to hover in the air, speaking of many of the things between the two men. Love, devotion, protectiveness, affection, loyalty... but also _possession_.

Yuuri loved every moment of it, feeling those hands sweeping down over his body, demanding things from him that he would only give to Conrart. His complete and utter surrender to the will of this one man, to trust him completely with everything that he was or ever would be.

Slowly dropping down to his knees on the warm woollen blanket, he leaned forwards and rested his arms beneath his chin, presenting himself willingly to his lover, groaning when a mouth teased along one spread thigh, drifting up to where that finger was still plunging into him, stretching him in readiness for something more substantial. He pulled forwards slightly, allowing that digit to slip free of his body and tipped his head back to glance over one shoulder back towards Conrart, his tongue brushing over his lips hungrily at seeing just how aroused the man was.

"Yuu..."

"Claim what has always been yours." A smile graced his lips at those words, warmth spreading through him at the sight of his lover's answering smile. There was something so beautiful about that, which made Yuuri's heart clench in his chest. Maybe it was the darkness in those silvery orbs, the evidence of his arousal or the softness of them, the way every elegant feature showed a little of the desperate, passionate love this man felt for him.

Conrart pounced, like a lion taking down his prey.

Powerful arms coiled around Yuuri's body, the hard muscular length of the man stretched out along the length of Yuuri's back, pinning him down as his wrists were caught in one massive hand and pinned over his head, his hips arched into the air exposing himself to the mercy of his lover. One hand closed around the King's aching length, the other's calloused fingers stroking along its length quickly, thumb nail tracing the flared head and over the slit, teasing it lightly.

Crying out, his head whipped to the side as he panted, while that hot throbbing length thrust into him without mercy, driving in deeply. The pace was hard, fast and the angle was sharp so that with every motion that length pushed down into him, rubbing against his already aching sweetspot with a delicious friction.

"Yes!" Gasping moans escaped him, most unintelligible, while he was completely and utterly consumed by this beautiful, intelligent man. "Harder!" He encouraged, rocking back into the motion as much as Conrart's strong grip would allow him, desperate to feel that heated burn even further down inside of him. "Please... oh... _Conrart_... please...!"

The man's mouth burnt against Yuuri's nape, heated breath tickling the tiny strands just there, his teeth nipping and his warm tongue slicking across the sensitive nerves just there. "_Mine_." The warrior growled low in his throat, both of their bodies unable to stop what they were doing. "My Yuuri."

"Yes." He breathed out, body aching with the force of his lover's claim, every single inch of his body throbbed deliciously from what he was doing to him.

"Yes... yours... always..." It was a promise, one that he had kept when he thought his man was dead. However, in that moment beneath the formidable frame of his beloved, he promised himself that never again would he allow anything or anyone stand in his way again when it came to keeping this man with him. He would always find this man, no matter what form he took.

His hand turned beneath Conrart's, lacing their fingers together, squeezing tight as he came with a scream of the man's name, body arching upwards, trembling with the force of what had been done to him. Spilling himself into Conrart's fingers, his passage clenched tight and eager around the man's hardness buried to the hilt within him. Conrart let out a shout, finding himself abruptly falling over that edge, driving one last time deeply into his lover and filling him with burning hot fluids as he trembled against Yuuri's slick back.

Together they dropped sideways onto the blanket, spooned together intimately, their hands still entwined, their matching rings clinking together softly. The brown-haired warrior wrapped himself around Yuuri, pulling him into the protective curve of his body, his free hand sliding upwards to press against over his husband's pounding heart, feeling its thunderous beat beneath his palm.

"I love you." He whispered softly against Yuuri's hair, never able to say it enough, never able to show it enough to the man through the different forms of expression they had been given.

"And I you." Yuuri sighed contentedly. "Always."

* * *

><p><strong>There you are. I hope you like it. Next chapter, we're heading for Francia! <strong>


	37. Part 37: A Traitor's Reason

**Author's Note: This is unedited (and will be switched with the edited version once my Editor returns from her trip ^^). This story is NOT abandoned and WILL be completed. (I'm already 2000 words into the next chapter XD) This is dedicated to my Editor 3 Though also to my crazy need to post this for all of you out there who have been so kind to leave reviews for me during the months I was attending university classes. **

**This is based on Episode 38 of the Anime. Mostly from this point, the 'episode to a chapter' will be a bit twisted, I will be picking which episodes of the anime to include in TKC. Though I have to say I'm looking forwards to episode 52~ Conrart Standing Tall. Enjoy enjoy Enjoy! **

**Now I'll let you read!**

* * *

><p><strong>Private Ship, <em>Mishan<em>, Cavalcade Waters**

"It's not going to fade, is it?" Yuuri's voice was a low whisper, his gaze flickering over the rigid line of his husband's back, the bunches of muscles rippling under the dark cloth. Reaching out, his fingertips stroked between those massive shoulderblades, feeling the emotions practically rippling off him in dark waves. "Not for a long time." His tone was stark, not sugar-coating his words, his gut telling him the exact same thing, the cold hard lump that settled inside of him at the thought of the months they had spent apart and the reality of what they had both suffered through.

Silver eyes turned back towards him, reflecting the harsh reality of what they had both seen inside of Shinou's Tomb, the darkness that lurked beneath the surface of their world and hat had manipulated them both to an almost painful end. "No." The single word hovering in the air, raw and ragged. "No... it won't." His jaw worked a little, his eyes closing as his head dipped and he leaned against the rail of the ship a little harder, grateful for the warmth that soon curled against his back the strong arm that curled around his waist as Yuuri leaned into him. They were different, both of them from what they had been. Each scarred inside by the shadows that still lingered around both of them.

"I keep searching for the words... keep searching for that laughter." His brows drew together as his head dropped forwards against one broad shoulder, squeezing his beloved just a little more tightly. "We had it a few days ago." Laughter that had seemed carefree, new and fresh after confronting Shinou... or at least the darkness behind the form of the man who had been the very first King of the Great Demon Kingdom. And then reality had come crashing in, like a cold harsh wave, slamming into them and casting them upon the rocks. There were boxes still out there, weapons that could fracture apart their entire world and all the emotions that had been buried in the initial joy of their reunion.

Conrart's hand drifted down to cover the one that rested against his stomach, his thumb slipping beneath his beloved's palm and brushing over the scars that streaked across it. They were both rattled by the intensity of the vicious nightmares that circled Conrart each night, each time he shut his eyes and remembered the sight of his beloved falling, a blade buried in his flesh, his name on his lips. He had thought those after the battle of Lutenberg had been bad, but they had nothing on this...

Yuuri's hand shift just a little so that he could slide his fingers between those of his beloved's, their rings clinking together softly as their digits laced together, weaving together like the threads that bound their souls.

"We are together."

The knight blinked sharply at those words, silvery eyes immediately twisting again to look down on the dark head that was pressed against the back of his shoulder, feeling lips softly touch against the fabric that covered it. All the strain that had been cording his muscles abruptly released, his body sagging a little, his long mane of hair dropping forwards to shield his face. His heart warmed at those three simple words, his eyes closing and a brief smile touched his lips.

"Together." He squeezed Yuuri's fingers in response.

"You do know what to say." Conrart mused for a moment, regarding his beloved's earlier comment.

"I don't." The younger man protested a little, feeling Conrart turn so that his back was to the rail and Yuuri was drawn in against him so that they were face to face. "I make a right fool of myself most of the time."

"No, you don't." He responded, leaning in his mouth found that sweet one, the kiss soft and lingering, just a sharing of simple affection and his need for contact. "You can be an elegant spokesman."

"One that can make your brother wince."

The familiar teasing between them was a welcome thing, something that had been missing the last few days of their journey towards Cavalcade and then on to Fransia. The entire crew aboard ship had felt the tension of the two royals, their loss of equilibrium in their ever changing world.

"Yozak."

Conrart froze at that single word, a name that encompassed so much, his eyes dropping down to meet the inky black of his husband's eyes and the knowledge that burned there. "Betrayal."

"It's not as simple as that, is it?" Yuuri's hands stroked across the broad muscular chest before him, tracing small patterns across the dark fabric that was stretched over a frame that was a little too thin, but still powerful. "It's not as simple as him being a pawn of Big Cimaron, of Belar." Problem was, they had no answers from anyone about that particular person. They were both aware that it had been Ken Murata who had pleaded with Adalbert to not take Gurrier Yozak's life for drawing a blade against the King and for turning against his country. The rather large issue being that now... Ken would not talk. The Great Sage as tight-lipped as a clam about how exactly he knew Yozak and why he had pleaded for the man's life.

The Prince Consort didn't have an answer for that question. He didn't seem to have any answers of late, just more questions which seemed to be piling up.

"I knew we had issues before..." Yuuri's lips turned down at the corners, his brows pressing together as he considered his beloved's face, his hand stretching up to stroke his fingertips against one cheek, sliding his fingers up into the wild brown locks. "With him... about us..." He considered what he knew of the man and it just couldn't add up, no matter how he counted everything running through both of them. "It still doesn't add up... none of it does, not anymore."

And that was what worried them both.

* * *

><p><strong>Horse And Bull Inn, Lutetia, Fransia<strong>

Eyes were staring at his back, the heat of that gaze burning into him. One glance over his shoulder would tell Ken Murata that it was Adalbert Von Grantz that hovered there in the shadows, the massive bear of a man having not lifted his eyes from him since the moment they had landed in Cavalcade and inched their way towards the Fransian border.

Icy cold flowed through his veins, aware that the slightest move from him could more than easily mean the end of his life if Von Grantz decided he was more of a threat than help to the Demon King. It was not the first time his loyalty had been questioned, that he was an outsider looking in at the rest of the world. The plan, the original one devised by himself and Shinou those long Millennia ago was going quickly off-course and a part of him had to acknowledge that it was no longer an option. Shinou... the man he had known as Alaric, had almost lost the battle against the Originators... the dark that was attempting to infest the world again seeping from within the man's soul.

His head tipped sideways slightly, catching the reflection of blue eyes in the glass from over his shoulders. "What do you expect me to do?"

Cold silence answered him.

"I wouldn't betray Shibuya."

Those blue eyes narrowed on him, staring deeply into his own and actually questioning him on that. _Would he sacrifice Gurrier Yozak's life to save Yuuri Shibuya Weller or Alaric?_ His heart jerked in his chest when the answer came to him cold and unrelenting. Murata's gaze immediately dropping to stare outside unable to meet the blue eyes scrutinising his reaction to the question the man had forced him to ask.

He was willing to give his own life... the chance at another reincarnation if it meant Yozak surviving. Fingers curled tightly against the window sill, nails digging into the white paint and leaving tiny crescents etched in the wood.

"Betrayal is a hard thing to live with." Adalbert's voice was a low rasp of sound, one that echoed with remembered pain and a guilt that not even his Gisela's love could not fully erase. He had done things in the name of vengeance, things in the name of justice. Things that wanted to tear him apart from the inside out and take his own blade to his chest. "The knowledge of what your own hands have done..." His jaw clenched and shoulders shuddering once, almost seeming to constrict in on themselves. "Blood once spilt does not wash off of them. Pick your loyalties carefully."

He knew in that moment there was a choice looming before him. One that would take him off the path that he had agreed to travel alongside Alaric and had up until that point. Secrets that whispered inside of his soul, nibbling at his internal compass. The simple reason for this elaborate game that was being played all around them. So many of them being played like puppets on strings, swung to and fro on a whim.

There was a whisper of change in the room, the subtlest of shifts.

"I don't wish for him to be extinguished." His head lifted again, dark eyes lifting to catch the midnight black of the Demon King's, his heart stopping in that moment as he made that leap of faith, to believe in something more than a millennias' old foretelling. "I do not wish for Alaric to cease to exist. I need to trust in the man he believed could destroy the Originators with the simple truth."

"He used himself to contain the Originators." Yuuri's simple statement was soft, his expression quiet and thoughtful, not judging Ken Murata in that moment. He had reached that conclusion since his earlier conflict against the dark shadow that haunted the Tomb of the Great One.

"His very _soul_, not just his body, knowing that in the end that it would be destroyed." Swallowing hard against the weight of that truth, that decision thrust upon them so long before. "He knew that there would come a day when the seals on the boxes would begin to unravel, when the darkness would leach from them... He had been infected during the battle and so he made the decision to sacrifice himself before their influence overwhelmed his own will. You were made... the game played in order that you would be strong enough to defeat the Originators once he had restrained them within himself."

Ken Murata turned around, his mask that had covered his emotions for so long fracturing open, his heart in his throat and in each word. "_He's still in there_." His throat worked fiercely. "My friend... the man I thought of as a brother is still in there... He should never have been forced to surrender himself like this. He has already given up his life once..." A hand reached out towards Yuuri, a wordless plea in his eyes. "Do not let him... if you can prevent it... save him... _please_... _Let me safe him_." The last four words were a plea of a different type. One for another man, another who had wormed his way deeply into Ken Murata's soul.

It was a leap of faith that they were both needing to take in that moment, to trust in things that one could not see the end to.

A flicker of deep understanding crossed Yuuri's face as he looked into his friend's eyes and saw far more in them than he ever had before, the mask had been torn away, shattered like his own had been in a time that seemed so long ago.

A scarred hand reached out towards the other young man, an acceptance. Ken Murata's hand clasped Yuuri's, feeling the strength in the Demon King's grip, fingers hot against his own with the pulse of the Dragon just beneath the surface of Yuuri's skin.

"I leave the issue of Gurrier Yozak to you. Do not disappoint my trust in you and the faith I still have in him." Drawing the other man in closer, their gazes clashing fiercely for a moment. "However, if he has truly betrayed his country, I cannot still Adalbert's blade."

Relief coursed through Kenta, his eyes closing, while his strength seemed to slowly slide out of him, all the fight going out of him for a moment as he remembered those blue eyes which had looked down at him with a love that he did not deserve to possess, yet he treasured and held close all the same. "I will bring him home."

"I have no doubt you will, if you are half as stubborn and cunning as I know you to be." And a small smile tugged at the corners of Yuuri's mouth in that moment.

* * *

><p><strong>Blue Cap Inn, Lutetia, Fransia<strong>

"They're a bunch of snivelling cowards."

Blue eyes lifted from papers that littered across the desk before him, his lips pressed together as he glanced back slightly over one shoulder to take stock of the soldiers he had been given command of. All of them were drunk, their words and behaviour enough to convince him just how much they had imbibed on the coin of their king. Their voices were progressively growing louder with each glass of alcohol they downed from the constant supply that was brought up to them by the Inn's keeper.

"Why hold back? Push them hard and we'll resolve this instantly." Another responded, his lips twisted into a annoyed grimace over the fact that Yozak had ordered them into retreat before they could bring down to the Fransian army on themselves. "Cowards and _farmers_."

"That's for certain."

Yozak's lips pressed together for a long moment, regarding those soldiers for a long time silently. _Had he ever been like them? Selfish and so consumed by his own perceived worth?_ His head twisted back and gazed down at his own hands for a long moment. The half-breed could recognise it in himself, the selfish man he had been thinking that he had known best how to look after Conrart, that he was the right man for him. His actions had almost cost the man his life and also the loss of their friendship. Reality had come crashing down around his ears, like a sword cutting through the shrouds that bound and muffled his senses.

Regarding the papers before him again, he regarded the information he had been able to gather before this mission and also from his own observations during the time they had been inside of the castle's walls.

It was clear that though the King of the country was a weak-willed boy who hadn't had the nerve to face them when they had gone to the castle earlier that day. However despite this, someone was directing the country's military with surprising skill, having set up border patrols that would immediately pick up any movements from any of the surrounding kingdoms, such as Big Cimaron. It was clear that they had been put on alert by Big Cimaron's earlier attacks against smaller nations that surrounded its southern borders and the fierce response that had come from these nations and from Big Cimaron's own people. Not all the people of Big Cimaron were like those who had watched the potential execution of the Blue Wind and the Calorian representatives.

He prayed that the King would give into them the next time they approached him, though many of the teeth had been yanked from the jaws of the Big Cimaron army and from their own king, Belar. Wounded animals were the most dangerous. Hopefully after retrieving this box he might be able to return... home. Even imprisoned in the Great Demon Kingdom was far better than been seen as a traitor in the eyes of the man he loved.

There was a firm knock on the door, one that made Yozak glance up from what he was reading to twist around in his seat to gaze back at the young woman who entered.

"Excuse me, which of you is Lord Yozak?"

The soldier with his back to the door let out a rather annoyed sigh, glancing back at the rather pretty maid that hovered there in the doorway. A thumb was jabbed towards him, though the soldier's beady eyes followed the woman's progress as she moved across the space, dropping from her bosom to her rear without even a shred of self-restraint or decency. An outrageous leer coming to the human's drunken lips as she progressed through the space.

The maid paused beside Yozak's chair, before bowing to him and offering out a piece of parchment, which he took with a silent thanks. He waited until the door closed behind her before opening it.

Several words were written on the small piece of parchment, at the sight of that flourished handwriting he knew that he was not the only one in this city or after the Box. His eyes closed tightly, when he stood, crumbling the piece of paper in his fist before standing and tossing it into the fire, watching for a moment as it turned to ashes. Swallowing hard, he turned silently and headed to the door, ignoring the questions that were flung at his retreating back.

A grim set remained on his face as he disappeared through the doorway.

* * *

><p><strong>Lutetia, Fransia<strong>

"Does the Prince know?" Lord Von Christ asked softly.

"No, nor does his Majesty or his Eminence." Troubled blue eyes however regarded Gunter, Geigen Huber's lips pressing together in a fine line, knowing that though Gunter was acting in what appeared to be the best interests of all involved, this had the possibility of blowing up on both of them. Some part of him hoped that there would be a reason for Yozak's betrayal... a simple logical reason that could explain his actions up until this point. Traitors seemed to have a way of redeeming themselves before the eyes of their King. Himself included. "My Lord..."

"Traitors to the Crown cannot be ignored." The man whispered fiercely, his lavender eyes sparking with cold determination, jaw working, the muscles flexing jerkily. "This situation cannot be ignored. He drew his sword against the _King_."

That was one thing that Grisela could not ignore, the open threat to their King. It was a sharp reminder to him that his duty was first and foremost to protect the King and his Consort, no matter how much he wished that this was not a fellow soldier he was here to face. They _needed_ the likes of Yuuri Shibuya Weller and Conrart Weller if their Kingdom was to survive in this world of advancing human nations. Open minded Kings that would not seek to destroy the world in the search of power or racial cleansing. A painful jolt skittered through him at the thought that he had been one of those men, one of those who would never have been given a chance to love or have a chance to raise his family in safety if not for those men.

The sound of boots on compacted gravel drew both sets of eyes upwards towards the familiar figure of Gurrier Yozak, what they had both been expecting to see was not what met their searching gazes. This was not the same man either of them had known. Stormy eyes regarded them both from a face that had lost that last ounce of brash charm and been replaced by stark lines and eyes that had seen far too much in the last few months. There was guilt in those eyes, guilt and soul deep regret for actions done, which could not be taken back.

"You sent me the message, Lord Von Christ?"

Gunter's hand immediately dropped to the hilt of his sword, fingers curling around the leather grip, clenching white knuckled on it. "I did."

"How unusual, Lord Von Christ. You never leave the castle for such a long journey. Is his Highness also here?" Though the question Yozak wished to ask was if Kenta Murata was here. His Kenta. His heart ached painfully at the simple thought of the man's name.

"You no long have the privilege of knowing such things." The Master Swordsman advanced upon Yozak, with each step his grip tightening until it was clearly painful, his hand shaking with his suppressed fury. "Why do you wear that uniform? Why did you betray his highness? Betray the Great Demon Kingdom?"

"_I never betrayed the Great Demon Kingdom._" It was the softest of whispers, one tugged from deep in his soul, he had never betrayed the land that had welcomed him. However, he had betrayed his friends, the people he had regarded as his family, his King... also the man he thought he had once loved.

"How can you say those words and think I would actually believe them?"

It was like a cold slap, one that made Yozak stagger backwards, his stormy eyes reflecting the soul-deep torment raging on inside of him.

Suspicion shimmered in their eyes, a cold hard reality settling around them all, one that Yozak was suddenly aware that he might not come back from. He had been doing the bidding of the Great One, yet in doing so, he was going against the people who he had once called family. stormy eyes twisted slightly to meet the clear piercing blue of Griesela's stare, his throat working as even this man gazed at him with something close to condemnation, though there was a hint of something there... that this man was not fully convinced as Gunter Von Christ was of his guilt.

Yozak longed to go home. He wished to finish this mission quickly, either by aiding his countrymen or by gaining the box and delivering it to the Demon King. Though there was one more box out there, he knew he did not have the will to remain amongst the humans, to keep turning his back on his people and be able to live with himself for what he had done. However, before he could speak out, before he could offer any kind of explanation, metal scraped upon metal...

Cold steel flashed in the afternoon light, the promise of swift, certain death.

"Griesela_, I.._." His head tipped to one side, about to ask for a moment to explain, to finally say all the words that were pounding through his heart and mind.

Gunter however didn't give him a chance, the man charged him with a cry of warrior defending his country, Yozak responded to the incoming threat. His own blade was soon meeting he deadly elegant weapon Lord Von Christ favoured, the swords slashing in a violent storm of movement. Gunter on the offensive, Yozak trying to just prevent his body from being cut apart by the razor edge of his superior's sword. He staggered backwards from the force of Gunter's attack on him, recognising a little of Conrart's sword dance in the movements of this Tribesman.

"Twenty years ago, I lost man pupils in the great war against Big Cimaron. I vowed never again to allow such a thing, I cannot lose another student. It's devastating."

Yozak's guilt weighed his limbs down, when he truly understood why it had been Gunter to challenge him and not Conrart, why this man had requested this. Gunter saw Conrart as more than just another soldier, more than just his Prince, but as something far more. It was a connection between a swordsman and his apprentices, a bond that was forged during those long days of training, the battle of wills and the affection of brothers-in-arms. He had attacked that bond when he had betrayed Conrart Weller in his effort to protect him, to try to have something that hadn't ever been his to begin with.

Blade met blade as they circled, Gunter looking for weaknesses, Yozak seeking in some way to make up for what he had done. Betrayal was still betrayal, no matter how it was framed or who's orders he had been following. He should have turned his own sword upon himself than ever betray those who had depended upon him to protect and guard their backs. Shame blazed like a living thing through his veins, vapouring his blood and the words his lips wanted to give this man, the excuses that they honestly were.

How could he return to Kenta like this? How could he look the man he loved in the eye knowing what he had done. He almost failed to block the powerful slash to his face and throat, his body shuddering as a single tear drifted down over his cheekbone, carrying away the blue of his eyes, the clear cloudless colour they had once been and forever leaving them a stormy grey, marked by this moment in his life where he had become everything he had so despised. _A traitor_.

Yozak parried another powerful blow, feeling the wild force behind it, the clean effortless movements, one flowing into another. Blade locked with blade, their equal weights behind the movement, the edge of his own blade chipped from the force, revealing the superiority of the Tribesman's weapon over his human forged one. Shifting pressure, he allowed his blade to angle up, allowing Gunter's to slide upwards and he spun back and to the side releasing the lock between them.

Gunter advanced again swiftly, long sweeping slashes driving at his chest and throat, razor sharp edges able to slide clean through a man's limb or even an entire body. The half-breed parried and blocked, reversing away from Griesela Geigen Huber who stood watching over them both, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.

"What is the matter?" The Sword Master hissed sharply, eyes narrowing upon Yozak, quite aware that his opponent was only defending himself, clearly attempting to ferret out an explanation as to why this battle was a mockery of what it could be. "I know you have more strength than what you're showing me, Traitor."

As much as he wished to give this man what he sort, he knew that his blood on this man's sword would not ease the ache in this man's heart for what had occurred between them all. He knew that Gunter had never killed another, killing for the first time changed a man at the most basic level, he had seen that occur in Yuuri Shibuya Weller the first time they had met, when their king had been forced to kill privates that would have killed and raped innocent people.

"Do not do this." He breathed out, for the first time stepping into the other man's first swing, throwing the man back a step. The weak defence he had shown to this man evaporating as he gazed into clear lavender eyes, which held a desperate desire to protect what was important to him. "Your sword has never known the blood of another, don't let this moment be you're first. Don't let rage be the reason for your first death."

"My fighting prowess, my determination will be shown to you."

Yozak attacked swiftly in that moment, turning from defensive to offensive in the blink of an eye, his entire body drifting forwards, his blade ringing powerfully against his opponent's as his leg swept out, lashing at the other man's catching him against the side of the knee and almost downing him. He used that momentary lapse to retreat several steps, his chest heaving slightly at the half finished mess of a duel they had shared. "Prowess has nothing to do with this or your determination and honour." His blade slipped back into his scabbard, startling both men with the action and also the third that was coming to join them. "I am a traitor, I turned my back on those I should have protected."

Geigen Huber's expression darkened, though his brow drew together at the tone of those words, his fingers still curled around his partially drawn sword.

"I betrayed my dearest friend, the man I owed my loyalty and unwavering faith. I betrayed my _King_." His words hissed out, remembering Yuuri's face, knowing that he should have seen the good in the man rather than the shadows of darkness... and illusions his mind had placed over that honest face. He had never been the right man for Conrart, that much was clear to him and he had acknowledged it in that forest when he had been the archer allowing his friend to fight on. "I thought I knew... what was right, what should be. I thought... I was the man for Conrart, that I... knew what he needed."

"I knew _nothing_ about what he needed." His throat worked after a moment, keeping his eyes steady on Gunter's face. "I did things... things I will never be able to make up for." His gaze met Griesela's, knowing that this man and also Adalbert Von Grantz would understand the weight of that kind of emotion, though his ran deeper than theirs because he had practically handed Conrart Weller over to their enemies and served the son of the King who had almost destroyed their entire world twenty years before. "I was trusted... and I turned away and stepped upon that bond."

"_Yozak_."

Grey met brilliant silver and Yozak's heart lurched at the sight of Conrart Weller standing there in the shadows, his face haunted and his silver eyes those of a full blooded Demon Tribesman. The tiny flutter of magic still clinging to the man's body and was echoed in the wind that swept around their feet.

"_Why_?"

It was such a simple question, but one that had so many answers. He opened his mouth to answer, when all hell broke loose.

"What the... hell... is this, _Commander_?" The drunken rumble of one of the other Big Cimaron soldiers made every single person freeze in the open courtyard.

Two men stumbled into view around the corner of the building, clearly having been interested in following him from the Inn in order to find out exactly what he was up to. Though they were so clearly inebriated that they were little of a threat to the three talented swordsmen who stood before Yozak, their hands resting lightly on their weapons.

Eyes flickered to Yozak, clearly attempting to make sense of this entire situation as it was beginning to play out before them. Killing these men would only bring more to investigate why they had not sent a message to King Belar in the form of an update report. Cold tension bracketed Yozak's mouth, his fingers curled tightly around the hilt of his weapon.

"Get yourselves back to the Inn." He ordered sharply to the men. "This does not concern you."

"I think it does... Commander..." The long haired soldier grunted, rubbing at his bearded lip and tugging up his sword belt bringing the hilt of his weapon to bear. Smirking in that cocky assurance of his own skill at Griesela, snickering as drunk bloodshot eyes turned towards the shadowed, hooded form of Conrart and the pretty features of Gunter. "Any challenge to... Big Cimaron... is a challenge..."

Yozak's gaze met Griesela's in one split second, storm grey met blue for one long moment, indicating that these men knew practically nothing of who Yozak was other than a foreigner who had been given a command of them and this particular mission. He was still loyal, still on their side despite everything. Despite everything, he still believed in the Great Demon Kingdom. He would come to them again, there was a silent promise in his eyes.

The slightest nod from Griesela and the large man charged him with a shout of rage, his fist connecting powerfully with Yozak's jaw and then his gut, thrusting him back into the first of the other soldiers. They crashed backwards in a tangle of limbs as the drunken human let out a shout of pain and rage as he shoved hard at Yozak.

The half-breed was already on his feet, tackling the other warrior, his own fist clipping the man's cheekbone and allowed the man to get in several solid punches to his kidneys and gut. Getting in a few heavy strikes of his own, he was flung back into the second man several moments later, being carried by Griesela's powerful bulk. They tussled, fists connecting, blood being spilt across the compacted gravel as Yozak's lip split from a sharp upper cut.

Neither of them gave quarter, two powerful men going at it with all the fierceness of their warrior natures. Yozak felt each blow, knowing he had earned them, grateful that this man had been willing to silently listen to him, to understand the needs of the situation and keep both Gunter and Conrart safe from the attentions of the humans. A powerful crash of a broad shoulder into the centre of his chest sent him crashing into the nearest wall, the force of the impact stunning him and allowed Griesela a clear opening at him. An arm was being pressed against his throat, cutting off his air while Griesela hissed at him in a language foreign even to him. Spots danced before his eyes, bright and flickering, while he struggled to find air until Conrart and Gunter understood the situation and gripped Griesela by either shoulder and hauled him back from Yozak, the half-breed sliding down to the cold gravel, his throbbing head dropping back against the wall, a small trickle of blood slipping from the corner of his mouth.

Griesela spat blood upon him with another angry snarl, before being hauled away by the two other men, leaving Yozak sprawled there, listening to the hissed curses of the two human soldiers as they struggled to right themselves, but finding that they were too drunk to get back to their feet.

He would have laughed if he could, considering that Griesela had probably just saved this entire situation and his life with his actions. Irony in its purest form, considering the same man had been the catalyst that had sent him and Conrart into an almost impossible battle decades before. _Irony indeed._

* * *

><p><strong>Blue Cap Inn, Lutetia, Fransia<strong>

"Why is it every time we are together, you've been in some kind of fight?"

Yozak's head lifted from where his chin had dropped down against his chest, while his back leaned against the solid oak door of his private room. His stormy eyes widening at the sight of a slender man seated on the edge of his bed, long legs stretched out before him, head cocked adorably to the side, worry in those dark eyes.

"_Kenta_." The name raised out of him, helpless and hopeful. "You cannot... be here..."

"And why can't I be?" The man responded, one raven brow lifting in question.

"I'm the enemy."

"I don't see _enemy_ written on any part of you." The young man was slowly pushing himself to his feet, moving slowly towards Yozak, as if approaching a spooked horse. "I just see darkening bruises... and blood..." Worry darkened to full out concern when Yozak was unable to push himself from the door without swaying wildly on his feet and almost ending up on the hard wood floor. Strong arms slipped around him, hands resting lightly against his back, keeping him upright. "And the man I love."

"You... should not be with me... Kenta... I'm..." He rasped out between cracked lips, his head dipping downwards, his forehead lightly touching against the forehead of the beautiful man before him, leaning into the warmth. Inhaling deeply the clean scent of this man filled his aching lungs, heady and intoxicating.

"I think that is my decision to be make." Fingers tenderly smoothed through the long strands of amber that ran down over the collar of his riding coat, cradling the back of his beloved's nape and pulled his head downwards softly, their lips meeting in a heated kiss, one tinged by the metallic tang of blood.

The kiss was soft at first, deepening into something desperate, the familiar taste sweeping them both up in the heat of their blazing emotions. Gurrier Yozak's arms sliding almost hesitantly around the slender waist of his lover, allowing his beloved to claim every part of him that was still left. Lips clinging together as they pulled apart, Gurrier's forehead rested softly against Kenta's, gazing down into those dark eyes, into the deep love that burned there just for him. His own closed tightly, just drawing the man a little closer, desperate to hold onto the one thing good thing in his life.

"Nothing you can say will chase me away." He promised Gurrier. "Nothing you do will ever stop me loving you."

Stray tears streaked down across his cheeks at those words, knowing he didn't deserve them, but clinging to them all the same. "I've betrayed everyone. _Everyone_... All that I've believed... for _what_?"

"For this moment." Brushing soft kisses over the every inch of the man's face, one hand brushed back the long tangled locks that shielded the man's eyes form his view. Their mouths found each other again, sweet and lingering. "The **journey**... not the destination." It was a silly quote from High School, but one that seemed to fit it.

"Cryptic." Yozak mused a little, burying his face into the clean heat of this man, desperate for him, to just hold him close and never let him go. A low groan of pain slipped out from between his lips, his knees almost giving out from beneath him, Griesela had definitely improved when it came to dirty fighting considering the way his ribs were throbbing and creaking almost audibly with each breath.

"_Strip_."

The wounded man couldn't help but grin at that simple, single word command. Amusement coloured his features, some small spark of the man he had once been in his eyes. "Now that is a command I wouldn't mind following."

"I would have given into you if you hadn't returned to me in this state."

"_Damn_." A ghost of a smile remained on his lips.

He was grateful when steady hands were moving over his body and beginning to draw his coat from his shoulders and allowing the stained white fabric to pool at his feet. Jacket and shirt following, his sword belt thumped hard against the floor as the rest of his clothing fluttered down around his still booted feet. Gazing down at that dark head as Kenta dropped to his knees before him, his large hands resting against the man's shoulders to keep his balance as his boots were freed and set aside and left him bare for inspection. Scars ran across his skin, dark bruises beginning to form purple and black along the sides of his ribs and lower back, his flesh looking like he had gone ten rounds with a very angry boxer.

"Will... you tell me why, Guri?" Kenta's dark eyes gazed up at the man standing over him, his shadow stretching over him.

Slowly, the man's knees giving out beneath him, he sank to the floor before his beloved, his hands reaching out to tenderly cradle that beautiful face in his palms, thumbs stroking over high exotic cheekbones, memorising every inch of that beloved face. Kenta gazed back at him without judgement already written in those eyes, just the quiet desire to understand all that had occurred since that ill-fated day where the world had come crumbling down around them all.

The first word seemed to get caught in his throat, caught around the lump that had formed there, before he forced it out. Soon the words tumbled end over end in a bid to escape, merging together so fast and chaotic.

He spoke of those moments in the blackness, of the shadow that had stepped from it and made him an offer, one that had promised him Conrart's safety and possibly his love in return for his completing the mission for the Great One. He was to gather the boxes and then return them to the Great Demon Kingdom, he was to work from within the enemy camp and he had. He spoke of his days of convincing Belar of his trustworthiness, of his desire for Conrart to love him... and his slow realisation that he was destroying what he had thought he was protecting.

His guilt. The blazing shame of the choices he had made in selfishness and greed. He spoke of the attack in the forest where he had killed his own men in an effort to protect Conrart without the man been aware he was even there and his decision to let go of that selfish desire to have what wasn't his. He spoke of the time facing off against Yuuri... of the lie... the secret he had kept of the fact that Conrart Weller was alive... that he knew others thought him _dead_.

He spoke of his current mission, of his earlier meeting with Conrart, Gunter and Griesela... of his understanding of the true depths he had fallen to on his road.

The words came until there were no more to be said, his shoulders were shaking painful with silent sobs being torn raggedly from his lips as his head rested in Kenta Murata's lap. He curled as close as possible to the only solid thing in his twisting world. A warm hand smoothed along his spine, while he curled there naked on the hard floor, eyes closed tightly in an effort to keep the hot tears at bay. A tingling warmth spread through his body with each stroke of that strong fingered hand, it moved again and again from his nape all the way to his tail bone. The throbbing ache in his flesh was being slowly leached away as was the dark pain that clenched around his heart.

Minutes... hours seemed to pass, the two of them curled there, until Gurrier finally fell silent. His cheek rested against Kenta's thigh, a soft kiss tenderly pressed against his amber locks that hung limply around his face, not a single word being spoken, until even Gurrier's hitched breathing evened out.

"This is not the end." The man whispered so softly into the darkness, his fingertips rubbing at the sensitive strands at the nape of the man's neck. "This is not the end at all, Gurrier. Not for you. Not for me. It is only the beginning. There is a long road before you, you will stumble as every man does, as I do. However, I will be right there beside you, my hand outstretched. _I_ need you, _I_ want you still. _I love you_, faults and all. We will stand together, whatever may come, I will be beside you facing it with you. I promise you this."

Pausing for a moment, he gazed down at the bright head in his lap. "Yuuri and Conrart still believe in you."

Gurrier jerked at that, stormy eyes opening and staring into the darkness in disbelief, his breath catching in his throat.

"Yuuri has faith in you, as I do, as I always have."

"_I love you_." Gurrier breathed, curling closer to that warmth, a tiny spark of hope raising from the dark ashes of his past. That tiny spark of hope flaring that he might... _might_ just have a future... that redemption... still existed even for the likes of him. Only Kenta could do this to him, make him hope... make him want to tentatively stretch his hand out and consider living. He knew the truth and he was still there... still holding onto him.

There was a spark.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it 3 Now I'm going back to writing. LOL<strong>


	38. Part 38: The Heart

**Author's Note: Looks like I'm back ^^ This time I promise not to disappear for so long. The next chapter should be up in a week or two at most and also the first chapter for a KKM Fic entitled Struck. Its my take on a particular idea that's been burning around inside my mind for well over my brain. I hope you enjoy this newest chapter in The King's Consort. **

**There is also two questions that I would like to pose to you all. I'm willing to take your thoughts and ideas into account over the next few chapters. Firstly, should Gwendal be with Anissina or Gunter? And should I give Wolfram someone too? I'm willing to do so ^^ so please either send me a Pm or in your review what you think ^_^**

**Enjoy.**

**AND THANKYOU TO MY BETA! KitElizaKing 3 Brilliant as ever. 3 Go read her stories. They are very very good! **

* * *

><p><strong>Blue Cap Inn, Lutetia, Fransia<strong>

_The ground suddenly sloped down from under his feet, sending him spilling down the slope, entire body twisting as it smashed through underbrush and down into the gully. Hands flailed for something to hold onto, but found nothing. The world tilted wildly as he freefell, arms stretching out for crushed branches he had just come through. He plunging backwards into ice-cold water, which roared up over his head, the powerful current sucking him down and rolling him under. He was instantly soaked to the bone, cocooned by inky blackness, terror rushing through every muscle and sinew. _

_Fighting his way to the surface, his head breeched it for only an instant, lungs burning as he struggled to draw in air, but he only inhaled foam and black water, and it clogged in his throat, choking off any chance to draw air into his starving body. Dark spots flickered across his vision, dancing wildly, blanketing everything including the starlit sky above the twisted branches that overhung the river's roiling, white-capped surface. _

_It was in that moment, that he knew with certainty he was going to die, one more break through the surface of the water showing him the pair of archers on the bank drawing their weapons level, arrows ready to pierce through his body and let the river finish him. A muffled plea for mercy attempted to escape his throat, but it was swallowed up, when he saw those bows snap taut, releasing their deadly bolts towards him. _

A terrified sound escaped Kenta's lips as he jerked awake suddenly, fighting what he thought was a restraining weight spread across his bare skin. A shudder ran the length of his entire body, every inch of him trembling as if he would literally come apart at the seams. Strong arms coiled around him, keeping him from fighting, from sending himself toppling over the edge of the bed and onto the hard floor beyond.

"Kenta." A soft loving voice murmured against one ear, his entire body drawn back from that edge and into the larger body that was coiled around his own. All of him was being rolled slowly, fingers slipping into his hair and cradling the back of his head, tucking it against a solid chest, another strong arm wrapping around his waist. "You're safe..."

His fingers clutched at the powerful body that cocooned his own, burying his face burying against the smooth muscles of the man's chest, every part of him shaking from the aftermath of what he knew wasn't just a dream, but another memory surfacing. There were so many lifetimes crammed into his mind that at moments like this, when he was so slow rising to the surface of consciousness, he actually forgot who he was. Forgot his own name, where he was... at what point in his life he was.

"I have you, Kenta and I won't let go." The words were so soft, whispered into his hair, lips brushed against his forehead and pressed a soft kiss against his temple. "I won't ever let go."

A harsh croak rattled out of him, a stray tear slipping past his guard and dampening the warm skin beneath his cheek. "Gurrier?" He breathed out in tentative question, desperately hoping that it was that man, the one he had held through the late afternoon. Reality was slowly piecing itself back together inside of his head, like puzzle pieces fitting themselves as Gurrier's presence coaxed them into place.

"Who else were you expecting?" The man teased gently. Smoothing Kenta's hair down with large fingers, he just held him there, feeling the flutter of warm breath drift across his skin. He could feel the wild beat of Kenta's heart beneath his fingertips, one that was slowing incrementally.

"I..." Shaking his head a little, he didn't think he could quite find the words, but in that moment he didn't need them, all he needed was Gurrier and the strong arms surrounding him with reassurance and warmth.

"Nightmare?" He questioned softly, dropping another kiss against the top of his beloved's head.

"Memory." Eyes closing for a long moment against the remembered chill that had sucked the life right out of his flesh, he swallowed hard. "Of how I once died." Most times he'd died violently, his passing never pretty in the slightest, usually people considered him to be a witch or wizard... someone who should not exist in a certain time or place. "Most of the time... it is like reading a book and sympathising with the main character's motives and beliefs."

Yozak had become aware of exactly who his Kenta was, but sometimes he still couldn't quite get his head around the entire concept. It was bad enough knowing that Yuuri's soul had once belonged to Suzanna Julia Von Wincott. However, it did not change how he felt about this man, no matter what he loved _Kenta_. "I love _you_." He hoped the man beside him would understand what he meant, would understand the truth of his feelings. "I don't care who you've been... who you're going to be... just... who you are right now. The man who came after me."

"I would willingly forget everything... leave the past in the past... if I could just keep my memories of you." Kenta shifted in his beloved's arms, his head tipping up to gaze into those stormy eyes, reaching out so that his fingers could stroke against one slightly flushed cheekbone. "I could be content." However, the past wasn't just the past, things that had started more than four millennia before were filtering through to the present. "Will... you be coming home?"

"Not yet." Yozak sighed, pulling his beloved closer against him, cocooning the slender body up in his warmth. "Not yet... there is so much going on and... I'm already buried so deep within this situation... I am more help where I am." Guilt still burned through his gut over what he had already done, more of the weight of it settling heavily over his back.

"I don't like the thought of you in that viper's nest." The man breathed out, his lips pressing into a thin line, his heart aching painfully inside of his chest where it was caged. It felt like it could be ripped out at any moment by a single word this man uttered. His hand lingered against the curve of Gurrier's jaw, feeling the faint stubble that had already grown in over the day. "One misstep."

"And the world could come crashing down, or... it might just be set right..." And if he could do that, if he could somehow manage to be of help to Conrart and Yuuri... maybe... just maybe he might be able to look them in the eye again. Forever, he would be marked with this guilt. However, the path of a man's life was set once he had walked it, there was no changing its course. "And I think it will be set right." His blue eyes sparked with a flicker of honest belief in his own words, he wouldn't let the regret burn away that tiny spark glittering deep down in his soul.

A smile tugged at the corners of Kenta's mouth. "At least one of us is an optimist."

"And to my surprise it seems to be me." His mood suddenly felt as if sunshine had spilled into it just from a glimpse of that smile, one that was solely for him. Nipping softly at the fingertip that teased across his lips, his tongue caressed the sensitive pad and watched a tiny erotic shiver skitter from fingertips, up along his lover's arm and down his spine.

Kenta's lips continued to turn that smile into a fully fledged grin, his dark eyes sparkling.

"One smile from you is all it takes to turn me inside out..." He couldn't resist leaning in to claim those lips in a heated kiss, his tongue stroking against the seam of them and sliding inside, delighting in the sweet taste he found there. Shifting across the sheets, he was sliding closer to his lover, his hands couldn't help but reach out and stroke the heated skin that lay beneath one of his shirts. His fingertips were trailing downwards so that they were soon brushing against the hem and sliding under, tickling across silky thighs.

One leg slipped over Gurrier's, the action allowing those calloused palms to glide between Kenta's thighs and touch him intimately, drawing a sexy little groan from the back of Kenta's throat. Digits danced from knee to the junction of hip and thigh, drawing little circles along the way.

A soft unexpected laugh slipped from between Kenta's lips as they rolled together, their bodies sliding intimately, skin against skin. He found himself astride powerful hips, gazing down into a pair of bright blue eyes that sparkled up at him. Leaning over the long, tanned body, his mouth found his lover's, their lips stroking together once, before calloused fingers laced themselves into raven hair and held on. Gurrier devoured his lover from the inside out, their tongues twining together, while hips arched upwards, a pulsing shaft teasing up between sensitive cheeks.

For a moment, the rest of the world seemed to slip away, drifting into the shadows at the corners of the room. For that brief flicker of time, two men shared a single heartbeat, an understanding that what they shared was precious, was irreplaceable.

Fingertips traced down either side of Kenta's spine, dancing tiny circles over sensitive nerve endings, while lips ghosted over every single inch of his beloved's face, committing every detail to memory. Finally those fingertips found the taut curve of Kenta's rear, carefully caressing over it and drifting between those hot cheeks, teasing him so intimately as his own shaft rubbed up along the underside of his beloved's sac. The single pad of a finger tickled against his mate's entrance, carefully tracing around the other ring of hot muscle before coming to rest against the clenching entrance to his passage. The simplest application of pressure was enough to let that fingertip slip inside.

Arching back, he moaned helplessly in response.

"You've been waiting for me..." Yozak's voice was soft, his voice a deep, shaken rasp.

"I always will. No matter how long it takes. I will _always_ wait for you." And for once in his life, he knew someone would be waiting for him too, with arms open wide and a heart aching to see him again. A hundred lifetimes... and this was the only one where he had found someone who understood... that saw him and didn't turn away. No matter how damaged or twisted up inside he was... Gurrier Yozak looked up at him with the kind of love that he had never thought he would ever find.

"Always." It was a promise, one Yozak would die to keep.

That single finger twisted slowly, rotating inside the tight ring of muscle and spreading it wider, allowing a second finger to wiggle into that very tight entrance. Hips were arching backwards against it, rocking slowly, as Yozak's fingers wiggled deeper until they could touch that hypersensitive spot deep inside. Colour immediately spread across high cheekbones, a little moan coming from deep inside Kenta's throat, dark lashes fluttering downwards for a second.

"That's it.." The amber haired man breathed out, captivated by the sight before him. Kenta was sliding himself backwards onto his fingers, hips grinding against them. His other hand reached down to cradle the weight of his lover's shaft in his palm, gliding his calloused skin along the silky flesh and scraping a nail across the weeping head. Coiling his fingers around it, he began to stroke steadily, using the momentary distraction to slide a third finger inside. His own shaft gave an almost painful throb in response to the bliss that was spreading across his lover's face.

"You're so _beautiful_."

And he couldn't wait another moment, not when his name was a plaintive moan on those parted lips.

Their bodies rolled, Kenta pinned beneath him, those lovely thighs spread on either side of his hips as he drew his fingers free from the seductive heat that dwelled inside of his lover's body. Sliding his arms beneath his lover's knees, he hitched them up higher, sliding forwards the head of his shaft was pressing hard against his beloved's entrance, the weeping tip rubbing against the willing flesh that was beginning to part under that gentle push.

Kenta cried out as his lover drove home, impaling him on a heated shaft, thrusting fully into him and gaining a cry of surprise from between his lips. Every single part of his body was shuddering with the pleasure that came with being with his lover. Hands already reaching out to scrape his nails down over that strong back, he screamed out his lover's name, his back arching off the bed as the entire length of that shaft was burned across that spot deep within him.

"_Please!_" The black haired man's voice was a rasp of sound, desperate and begging. "Please! Plea... se..."

Gurrier's lips touched against the exposed curve of his beloved's throat, lingering there, feeling the frantic tick of his love's pulse like a rapid drumbeat. Blue eyes peered up through the gloom, attempting to memorise the sweeping curves and delicate features of the man who had haunted his dreams and every waking moment since they had first met. Every feature was etched upon his heart, a beauty that would always lay claim to it no matter what happened to either of them ...he knew deep down who he belonged to and always would.

The pressure was slow, like a spring slowly being coiled, building and building... torturously slow, blood boiling in its wake. Thighs spread themselves wider, desperate to offer himself up as much as he was physically able. Every breath rasped from his throat, his lips dry, while the most erotic notes were tugged from his very soul, ecstasy wrapping its fingers around him. "**Guri**...**!**"

"Not yet!" He whispered against one ear, heated breath drifting over the exquisite shell of it. "Not. Yet." Hands gripping his lover's rear, he surged upwards into him, thrusting more fiercely into that slick tightness. "Not... _yet_..." He crooned low.

Kenta was clawing at the edge of sanity, his world feeling like it would fracture into a million blissful pieces if he let it, but he struggled against that edge, desperate to hold on... to do as his beloved requested. Panting hard, his face flushed and skin shimmering with a fine sheen of sweat, his hands found his lover's scalp, sliding his fingers into amber locks, tugging hard. His demand was met by the sight of his beloved's face appearing before him, before he could say another word, their dry lips found each other, skin clinging heatedly together. The world spun as he was being kissed, his world narrowed down to that single point, the pressure reaching that boiling point.

The world went white-hot _supernova_.

Kenta's scream of his lover's name was swallowed up by his beloved's mouth, his chocolate dark eyes widening as his universe collapsed in upon itself, ecstasy swamping every sense and sending them cascading into overload. Beneath his grasping hands, he could feel his beloved's body shiver as he released himself deep within Kenta's core, rippling white hot sparks blazing within, igniting another secondary explosion, sending Kenta reeling. Together they collapsed, all those bright points rushing back together and sending them into a spiralling pinpoint of pleasure.

Awareness didn't return for a long time, both of them sprawled together across the bed, Kenta's entire body covered by the muscular weight of his lover, his leg wrapped around the back of Gurrier's knees and thighs, preventing him from pulling out of his body. The fullness was such a wonderful sensation, the heat of that throbbing length a welcome distraction from the rest of the world that existed outside of the window. His fingertips slowly brushed over the long scratches he had left across his companion's back, caressing slowly, the sensual heat making his companion sigh and shift over him, his weight settling more fully onto him.

"That was..." Yozak groaned, his blue eyes half opening as he propped his chin against his lover's shoulder so that he could gaze into his eyes. "I don't quite know how to describe that..." He admitted softly, his eyes lingering on those dark ones, a slow satisfied smile did however tug at the corners of his mouth. "But I think I did a rather fine job on you, my Sage. Did you foresee this I wonder...? Did the great..."

Kenta playfully glared back at the man, his hand having lifted to cover those teasing lips, only to find his palm kissed softly, a tongue tickling softly across the skin. "Your mouth is evil, **suggesting** such things of me."

A startled laugh escaped Yozak, blue eyes widening, as the sound was muffled by his lover's fingers. His heart jumped inside of him at the fact that he was still able to laugh so freely, that he could still know how to do so. His eyes drifted over those tawny cheeks, one hand lifting upwards, his fingertips caressing one flushed cheekbone slowly, his thumb ghosting across tender lips.

Nipping his lover in response, he sank back into the bed, his hands reaching up to curl around that beloved face and once more draw it down towards him, his mouth finding those soft lips and kissing them tenderly. "I love you." He whispered against them, feeling that each of those three words were indeed filled with all the emotions that lived within his heart.

"And I. Love. You." Their noses rubbed together before he brushed a tender kiss over each eyelid and settled himself over his Kenta, the arms around him having told him that his companion didn't find him heavy at all.

"Tell me..."

A soft questioning sound escaped Gurrier where his face had been tucked against the side of his companion's neck, warm breath fluttering across the cooling skin.

"Tell me... everything."

"Everything..." Yozak murmured. "That is a very loaded word. Trust me there are things..." Swallowing hard, however, he reminded himself exactly who it was stretched out beneath him, this was not merely a young man who had stolen his heart, but one plagued by dozens of life spans that stretched across four thousand years. What... could he honestly say that would frighten him? What secrets so dark that they could not be brought into the light and conquered?

"Please. I don't want you to bear it alone." His fingers lingered against the man's cheek, cradling it, only to feel a larger one cover over it, holding it steady, not letting it fall away.

"Don't say... I didn't warn you." He tried to smile, but felt it falter and as he gazed down into those rich, dark chocolate eyes, he gave into him and the words fell from his lips like water. Spilling out a thousand secrets and more... ones that even hadn't come earlier... ones that lurked in the darkest corners of his soul.

Silently, Kenta Murata listened to every word, holding the man he loved through it all.

* * *

><p><strong>Private Royal Residence, Near the Fransian Border, Cavalcade<strong>

Gwendal's deep azure eyes stared out into the darkness beyond the window pane, catching in it his own reflection and seeing the shadows that lingered over his own features. The last few years had changed him... aging him a little, forcing him to reconsider the man he had been those first few months when Yuuri had initially entered their lives. _When had he become so lonely?_ The eyes he saw in that reflection were _haunted_ ... almost lost. Immediately he blinked, his entire body jerking in response to the emotions that sank through his stomach and sat like a lead weight inside of him.

He jolted when a single finger poked at his cheek lightly from behind, making him almost jump out of his own skin at the touch. It was a surprising hand that touched his cheekbone and made him twist his head to look behind him. For a moment he had almost been expecting to find his mother there, her green eyes regarding him with amusement and teasing, but instead he found himself gazing into the eyes of Gisela Von Christ, her eyes a darker shade of green, but reflecting a little of that same teasing.

"I think... Lady Cecilia would have remarked that 'that's not a very cute expression'," Gisela felt her cheeks flush a little as the words slipped out and she shifted to one side of Gwendal, looking up at the much taller man, knowing her presence was unexpected. "I've seen that same expression many times on the face of Lord Weller over the years since Julia died... but I will admit, I have not seen it in some time."

"What kind of expression is that?" He ventured to ask, letting the words fill the slightly awkward silence that drifted around them.

It reminded him of the many times his mother had done this for him, breaking the endless silence that flowed around him when it was him left behind, being forced to watch those he loved go off into situations filled with the promise of possible death. Gwendal Von Voltaire was not a man who took such things sitting down... but in situations like this... there was nothing he could do to change it. It was like reaching out for a dream that drifted further out of reach the more he tried to snag it with the tips of his fingers.

"The one that says... your heart is looking for something and just doesn't know where to find it." Her voice was soft, her gaze flickering over those strong, proud features. "I knew that feeling too for a time. I thought I would never know happiness. I would never..." Her fingers reached up to lightly stroke over the locket that swung from a chain around her neck, lightly letting her fingers touch against it, feeling the tiny engravings etched into the metal and the promise that upon their return from this mission of theirs that they would marry. "That I would never have him... that his heart would always belong to someone else. I was lucky." The last three words were the softest of whispers as her fingers lingered around the locket which warmed beneath her touch.

"I..." Gwendal's voice halted in his throat, the words unable to slip from between his lips. They refused to come. His heart refused blatantly to speak. "I am concerned about the others. It has nothing to do with the lack of romance or any such nonsense in my life."

Gisela's lips quirked at the denial. "I see."

Attempting to straighten, the man's features flushed ever so slightly. "I assure you, my thoughts are only on their wellbeing and safe return... and on ways to assist them."

"Well." Green-blue eyes danced with good humour. "A heart can be filled with more than just one thing." However, the teasing quickly faded as she reached out a hand to lightly rest her palm against the crook of his folded arms, squeezing softly. "I'm worried too. However... all we can do right now is wait and prepare..."

His hand lightly covered hers and he nodded once, gazing down into her eyes and feeling a shared camaraderie in that moment, one that built a bridge between them of friendship and mutual understanding. "We won't let them down."

Gisela's mouth quirked again. "When did I ever say we would?"

* * *

><p><strong>Paname Castle, Fransia<strong>

"This is highly unusual." Yuuri murmured, his dark eyes glancing upwards at Conrart who stood beside him, Murata, Geigen Huber, Gunter and Von Grantz flanking them. "We were allowed right in." He knew quite well that at Covenant Castle, guards would have questioned any guest that they did not recognise and prevented them from entering the palace, especially after the incident with Greta.

"Now we just wait for an opportunity to reveal our identities and our hopes of retrieving the boxes." Murata's lips were pressed into a thin line, his head down, dark eyes closed in thought.

"All hail his Royal Highness!" A voice echoed through the cavernous space as a young man appeared form behind the throne.

Within three steps, the blond-haired human had not only tripped himself up and planted himself face first on the floor, but also ended up with his rear in the air, completely losing all sense of dignity. The boy struggled to right himself quickly before scrambling up and into his throne, hands roughly attempting to straighten his rumpled clothing and restore even a tiny bit of decorum, failing miserably on both accounts.

"Now to business." The young King said, his accent giving his voice a timid quality. "So you say you are foreign merchants? And, and, and, so?! What kind of unusual items have you brought for me?" He stood, eagerness etched into every feature, lips turning upwards into an eager smile as he took a step forwards. "Is it a firerat fur coat? Maybe a pigweed plant? A scale from a dragon's neck? A cowrie shell from a sparrow? Don't keep me waiting any longer, show it to me now!"

The dragon beneath Yuuri's skin wanted to snarl at the mention of dragon scales and what it cost to be able to gather scales from a dragon-it required the animal's death as scales were rarely ever shed. His scarred fists clenched for a moment, before he released a soft breath, allowing the creature to slowly settle, holding it close internally, soothing it with silent words of understanding. His dragon had been one of those slaughtered in order to mount its head and confine its soul to an eternal prison of decayed and desiccated flesh, until Yuuri had freed its soul and given it new life.

"Sire..." Yuuri responded, his hand reaching for the edge of his hood, ready to reveal himself and begin an explanation when a young woman suddenly appeared off to one side.

"Wait a minute!" She hissed, tension written on every line of her body, grey-brown eyes narrowing on the six of them.

"Oh, Lyla!" The King's entire expression and demeanour seemed to immediately lighten, the nervousness lifting away from his shoulders the moment he heard her voice.

"I told you before that under no circumstances were you to meet with any visitors."

"They're not visitors..." He tried to cover, inching closer to Lyla. "They're merchants and they're supposed to have something unusual to show me, so I just couldn't help it." Seeing that his words weren't convincing the beautiful Lyla, he immediately switched tact. "I'm sorry! Please don't be mad with me, Lyla!"

Before he could speak another word, she charged towards them, both hands drawing short blades from their sheaths on either hip. Immediately every member of their party bar Murata was going for their sword, Conrart being the first to draw, parrying the first strike aimed directly at Yuuri. The Demon King was right behind Conrart, the two of them falling into the easy grace of the sword dance they shared, his blade meeting the second strike, forcing her into retreat.

"You fool! I could tell immediately by their bearing they are no mere merchants...Are you?"

"If you would allow me to explain." Yuuri was lowering his sword, hoping that this would not end up in a full out duel, which would do no one any good.

"No talking!" She hissed, anger blazing in those intelligent eyes. "They're suspicious! Restrain them!" Lyla immediately charged again as the guards responded to her call, booted feet pounding against the polished stone of the throne room floor. Adalbert was moving to meet her second charge when...

Everything froze abruptly. Lyla literally hovering in mid-leap, the soldiers' feet practically glued in place, while the air shimmered with magic and the force of the Demon King's will.

"_Stop this._" Yuuri snarled. "This is most unnecessary."

Reaching up, he drew away the hood that covered his head, his long braid tumbling free and sliding down over one shoulder, silky raven strands falling across both cheeks, his obsidian eyes pinning both Lyla and Antoine in place.

"Double... black...?" One guard whispered in shock, the two words repeated around the room, all eyes staring in something close to fascination at the Demon King.

"Double-black?" Lyla breathed, shuddering as she was slowly being lowered to the floor with a simple gesture from Yuuri, the invisible forces he had gathered around him fading as he released them all.

"Oh, no! How could Demon Tribesmen be here in my castle?" Antoine was hiding behind his throne, peering out at them with worried amber-brown eyes. "If Big Cimaron finds out about this..." Managing to get enough courage to stagger forwards and out of hiding, the Fransian King swallowed hard. "Quickly, quickly throw them out!"

"Sire..." Lyla whispered, staring at Yuuri for a very long moment, visibly swallowing as she recognised exactly what and who he was. "Do not suggest such a thing... In the Demon Tribe, only those of the highest nobility are double-black... they are so rare that it has been said only the Demon King himself has the honour of such colouring."

"Not quite." Yuuri mused, lips turning upwards at the corners in quiet amusement, when the others pushed back their hoods and Murata was revealed, his dark chocolate eyes almost black, but not the same almost impossible shade as Yuuri's liquid obsidian."However, you are right about the King being double-black."

Immediately, both Lyla and Antoine were going to drop to their knees in respect to him but he stopped them, shaking his head and offering them both a warm smile. The slight tension that had been riding across Yuuri's shoulders faded when strong calloused knuckles brushed against his cheek and through loose strands of his hair, the contact warm and affectionate. The King leaned into the soft caress, eyes drifting closed as he turned into that simple action, his smile turning into something grateful as his gaze eventually met the sterling silver of Conrart's eyes.

"This is your home and we have intruded upon it. I apologise for the deception, but as you can understand, we do not wish for the news of my presence and that of my husband to be made public."

Lyla watched them both with amazement, seeing the bright connection between the two members of the Royalty, in the grey depths of her eyes, there was a spark of longing for something similar. Her gaze flickered towards Antoine, her throat working just a little before straightening and her shoulders squaring, shaking off the moment of desperate longing that had consumed her at the sight of such intimate affection.

"We come to speak to you on a most important matter." His velvety dark eyes meeting the gazes of first Lyla and then Antoine, his chin lifting slightly, his demeanour relaxing as he forced the tension away, knowing that he would not force this man into anything. He was hoping that the plans he had in mind just give them an opportunity to finally put an end to Belar. "You are undoubtedly aware of the reason we are here. We have already heard that you have met with the representatives of Big Cimaron, but sent them away for the time being." His glance lingered on Lyla, giving her a small nod of approval, before turning his whole attention on the Fransian King.

"Big Cimaron has suffered from several rebellions in recent months, first from those smaller kingdoms that they attempted to dominate and subjugate along their own borders, then their own people in response to the harsh treatment meted out to anyone that speaks against the king's brutality. King Belar is seeking a way to retaliate against those that are now threatening to depose him. And it is for this reason that he has now turned his sights upon Fransia."

"You possess an object that he desires, a Box. He wishes to possess such an object for the powers that it holds even in its unopened state. A Box was the reason for the strife in Conansia Svelera, the cause of the drought that almost destroyed that country. It is also responsible for several atrocities in many other countries." His expression paled at the remembered just how many lives the Box and those obsessed with it had been responsible for destroying. Jaw clenching for a moment, he closed his eyes, just bringing his heart back under control.

Yuuri felt Conrart's fingers brush ever so softly against his own, a quiet reminder that he was never alone. Their fingertips tangled for several long seconds as his words sank in.

"Belar has plans to rally his forces and to bring them here. He intends to make Fransia an example, whether or not you cooperate with him." His eyes met Antoine's, locking gazes with the other man. "I wish to know if your people would be willing to help put an end to Belar and his tyranny. There are many other countries willing to support our quest to drive back Belar and remove the threat of the Boxes from this world for good."

"We ask that you consider the plan we have in order to end this conflict before it can escalate into open war." Conrart spoke up, his silvery eyes swirling with his belief and conviction that they would be able to prevent war from erupting from the guerilla warfare that had been used against Big Cimaron. He had been one of the leaders of the rebellion and there was still a deep conviction inside of him, a longing to see his father's homeland freed from evil and the grasp of a monster.

Antoine paled, his usually fretful face losing every single ounce of colour that had been in it only moments before. He realised that his country was suddenly right in the line of fire, that he had three rather painful options to decide upon. Firstly, he could acquiesce to the demands of King Belar... _**or,**_ attempt to fight against him on his own, though he knew that was barely an option at all. Lastly... he could listen to the plan that was being offered up to him by two men of good reputation and give the existence of his country and his own life into the hands of others.

Immediately his eyes sought out Lyla's, looking for her advice in this troubled time, but before she could speak, the young man swallowed hard and glanced back towards the King of the Great Demon Kingdom, seeing in those shadowed black eyes a man who was willing to die to protect his people. For his entire life he had relied upon others to make decisions for him, terrified of everyone and everything around him. He had run and continued running and lost sight of what a king was meant to be. Here was a King willing to stand at the front of his army and not cower behind like Belar did. His gaze met Lyla's again, his heart twisting painfully inside of his chest, reminding him how much he treasured this one woman, how much she truly meant to him. Would she forever be walking alone before him? Or would he- in the face of this nightmare come to his door- answer it, and be able to be counted upon?

Antoine Pierre's jaw clenched and he stood, his shoulders stiff and he pulled every last bit of himself together, even though he knew his hands were trembling with the flickers of terror that still danced through him. However, he refused to give into it, clenching his fingers to force the trembling to stop. "I want to hear your plan. I need to be a part of this, I need to protect my people." He offered Lyla a smile, seeing just how startled she was by the inner strength he was demonstrating, and that look had him desperately hoping he would one day be a man who truly deserved her affections if... she returned his love. "With Lyla's help of course. She knows more about my country than I think I do by far. And she... has the most brilliant thoughts..."

Lyla felt her cheeks immediately go scarlet at the praise from her King, her heart responding to the sight of him so strong. "Always, my Lord, I will be ready to serve you." Her chin lifted, feeling a deep sense of hope fill her, like one she had never felt before.

Yuuri Shibuya's hand stretched out towards Antoine and felt the other man take it, his fingers curling around Yuuri's own and he squeezed them in reassurance as he shook once, steady black meeting hopeful brown. "Then let us begin and see if we can trap the man that seeks to trap us."

* * *

><p><strong>Paname Castle, Fransia<strong>

"I believe you about him."

Ken Murata jerked, his head twisting around as he regarded the man that stood behind him for a long moment, not surprised to see the startling silver eyes of Conrart Weller glinting at him in the moonlight, from near the doorway. His gaze however, immediately returned to Yuuri Shibuya Weller's face. "I... I hope you can forgive me... from hiding that from you." Sagging backwards, his hands resting on either side of the table he had been leaning over, his head dipped down, dark lashes dropping. "I..." Rubbing his fingers back through his hair, he attempted to flatten it down only to feel it spike itself back up once more.

Yuuri moved towards him and reached out a hand to catch the back of Ken's wrist, tugging his arm back away from his face. Gazing into those eyes, he captured his gaze, forcing them to remain locked together. "No more secrets." He could still remember his own shock when just before they had been setting out for Paname Castle, Murata had broken his silence and stopped Yuuri before they could leave the quiet of their lodgings. The things that had fallen out of the man's mouth had been almost shocking, the tactical information straight from the source... it had been what they had needed.

Ken nodded once in response, his shoulders slumping as he settled onto the edge of the desk. "No more secrets." He answered. "No more silence..."

Silence settled for several moments, Ken's voice stolen by that lingering darkness between them.

"I love him." The three simple words escaped, like a wave breaking against the shore the words echoing loudly in his ears, yet they had been no louder than a whisper. "I love Gurrier Yozak. He... saved my life and... my sanity."

"We... suspected that was how you felt about him. It is just good to finally hear it from you."

"How is he?" Conrart's words were soft, his silver eyes gazing at Ken intently, but there was a genuine wish to know how the man faired. With the weight of so much upon them all, the anger that he felt towards a man he had thought he could trust felt like a dull blade slashing at his heart. _Would he be able to forgive the man entirely for what he had done to both of them?_ Conrart wasn't sure that he could yet answer it. Though he was relieved to know that not all he had presumed about his friend had been a mistake.

"He... is trying to make the best of a bad situation." Ken's hand lifted to rub across his throat and nape softly, still feeling the ghostly brush of his beloved's lips sliding over his skin, the large calloused hands teasing him until his insides felt like molten fire. Not in all those lifetimes had he ever had someone who sparked something inside of him so powerfully, burning him up from the inside out and making him long desperately for his touch. "He's willing to do anything to see you both succeed in retrieving the Box here and bringing Belar to justice. I had a way to get messages to him. He was the one that gave me all that information earlier... and he's willing to find out as much as possible... in order to make this all work."

"Why...?" Conrart's voice was almost hesitant, for once not certain if he wanted the answers. "Why did he do this?" He questioned softly, his features showing just how deeply troubled he was by all of it.

"That... that is something for him to tell you. He wants to explain... I know he does. Please... trust him. He hurt you and the guilt for that... is eating him all up inside." Kenta wished he could be beside the one he loved, that the man wasn't somewhere out there, alone and without someone to watch his back. "Just... trust my word... trust in what good you remember of him."

The weight of what was being asked was enormous because of all that might eventually depend upon the single man that was hidden in the enemy ranks.

"You know... this is just like him." Yuuri abruptly broke the tension, amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth. "The lone man hidden amongst the enemy, ready to appear out of nowhere in every crisis. Some things definitely don't change." His smile was small but it caught at Conrart's heart as his glanced down in his beloved's face, feeling the warmth spreading through him at the reminder. "Isn't it?"

"That begs the question... is he going to do it in disguise?"

Kenta's brows drew together at that remark, confusion flickering across his features, not quite remembering any time where he had seen Gurrier Yozak wear anything other than a uniform or his own bare skin. "Disguise? What are you both talking about?"

Blinking once, the Demon King stared at his friend, then back at his husband... before slowly settling back on Ken. "The maid uniform. _Pardon me_... the pink maid uniform."

"With the bow and frills." Conrart added, a devilish smile brightening his steel eyes until they were molten silver once more. Fond memories flooding him at just that simple reminder. "I think he favours the more slinkier outfits in his wardrobe than just a simple maid's outfit. How about the nurse's one...?"

All colour drained from Kenta's face, his eyes widening in horror. "They will be burned." He whispered softly to himself.

And both Yuuri and Conrart roared with laughter, the sound echoing through the halls and chambers of Paname Castle, warming every heart that heard that honest sound and the hope it brought with it for the battle to come.

* * *

><p><strong>I hoped you liked this latest chapter for TKC! <strong>


	39. Part 39: Night And Day

**Author's Note: LOOK! A POST! Actually there are three chapters being posted. How's that for timing? That's well over twenty thousand words of ConYuu to be enjoyed. YAAY! Thankyou to CRSG (Artemis), KitElizaKing my beautiful and absolutely awesome Beta, Amber and Mai for encouraging me to get this all done. Hopefully the next chapter will be out within the next two weeks. I'm allowed to cross my fingers and hope on that one. **

**ALL HAIL CONYUU! **

* * *

><p><strong>Paname Castle, Fransia<strong>

"It's so incredibly peaceful here." Yuuri gazed out across the cultivated fields and the distant mountains that ringed this peaceful nation, all illuminated under the soft silvery glow of moonlight. It was so quiet, even compared to some of the parts of the Great Demon Kingdom he had been through, the only sounds that drifted to his ears came from within the castle itself. His head tipped towards Lyla, the young woman having come to join him, while he took in the beauty of this small kingdom. "Though initially I have to say, your king wasn't quite what I was expecting."

Yuuri had met a few members of royalty during his own reign, it seemed that sometimes they were at one extreme or another. Yet, each person of royalty had had something special to them, except for Belar, and Antoine was no different.

"To be honest, his… weakness was never an issue to me or this Kingdom." Lyla responded, stepping forwards to lean against the rail beside Yuuri, letting her own gaze slide from the man beside her to the vista of her homeland. "A flexible heart has always proven to be our King's strong point. For any powerless small nation country to survive, it certainly helped if the king had a flexible heart. However, seeing him today, seeing him… standing up for himself, I cannot help but wonder what kind of king he could become with allies willing to stand beside him."

A fine flush dusted itself across her cheeks, her heart warming inside of her at the thought of the man she had seen in that moment. The set of his jaw, the determination in his words and actions, it had surprised her… yet she could not help but crave more of it.

"He's a good man." The Maou responded thoughtfully. "And he's extremely lucky to have someone like you, Lyla. Someone with a head firmly attached to a good set of shoulders. I was fortunate as well to have people support me since the beginning. I don't know if I would have been able to do even a fraction of what I've managed to accomplish without Conrart or Adalbert, Gwendal... Gunter. Every one of them who has come into my life has helped me in some way to improve myself, to become a better King for my people."

"You're not what I expected you to be, either."

A smile tugged at the corners of Yuuri's mouth at that. "What were you expecting?"

"For it all to be lies." She leaned heavily against the railing, her grey eyes distant. Lyla continued quietly, "For everything to merely be rumours and propaganda."

"I can't blame you for thinking that." The Maou agreed honestly. "I couldn't blame any human for thinking that of the Demon Tribe either. Generations of hatred and mutual distain cannot be erased in just a few months, even in a few years. However, despite the weight of the past, of war and cold hostilities, I refuse to allow it to dictate the future I know can be built if we all stand together against the forces that would wish to tear us apart."

The slightest shift of shadows behind them, the sound of spurs scraping lightly against stone indicated that Adalbert had joined them, keeping respectfully within the castle, but watching Yuuri's back. The man's presence was a confirmation of what he had achieved alongside those he treasured as family, that no matter how painful the fight, if they kept reaching, if they kept going, they could win against all odds.

Lyla's lips twitched slightly at the rather skillful use of words that almost sounded like a speech, eloquent and heartfelt. "You are a fool." She teased Yuuri.

"A fool with quite a bit of luck," Yuuri chuckled. "Also, the love of a good man, whom has never once lost faith in me no matter what we have faced together."

"He's a magnet for love," Adalbert mused, voice a rough caress to the ears. "No one who's seen the Prince Consort with the King can help but desire a little taste of that kind of love. Take this from one who speaks from experience." His beautiful Gisela, his joy filled his thoughts for a long moment, his heart longing to be once more by her side.

"A _love_ magnet?"

The dark haired King groaned, shaking his head and burying it against his hand, still feeling the bright sparks of amusement flare inside of him. He was grateful for this small moment of laughter, one that reminded him exactly what he was fighting to protect. He was fighting to protect the happiness of his people and those around him, fighting for their freedom and ability to smile without fear of something snatching it viciously from them.

Through his fingers, he traced the horizon before him, watching the tiny flicker of candles illuminating the growing darkness. Amongst all this peace lurked a terrible evil, almost hidden underneath the tranquil surface of this picturesque nation. "Without its key, it's just an ordinary box or... it might seem that way. _Harmless_..." But several nations could stand testament to just how incorrect that statement was.

"Neither of the others has been harmless." Yet, somehow the raw evil that had radiated from the other boxes wasn't so strong here. "The drought of Conansia Svelera, the situation in Schildkraut… famine… war… murder… disease." Where evil lurked, the box found those to sink its deadly claws into them, twisting and shaping them into monsters of the like none of them had ever seen. The power had affected even Belar, though the man had already been a vicious, self-serving man. "It's only a matter of a few hours exposure and it begins to creep into your soul… your mind. Any weakness…"

A soft, horrified gasp escaped Lyla, the woman's entire body going deathly still as she listened to the Demon King speak. Cold fear crept into her features, blanching her skin ghostly white.

"Here however…" Gazing out across the landscape, he could feel the deep tendrils of darkness creeping through the fields, but instead of being a claustrophobic darkness, one that tore at him, this one was… weaker somehow. "It hasn't progressed as far as being able to influence much around it… its attempting to find someone it can influence… But…"

"How dangerous is it without its key?" Lyla's voice almost cracked, her fingers curled into fists, worry lining every inch of her face, reflected in her grey eyes.

"Very." Dark brows pressed together as he turned to regard the human woman, understanding flashing across his features. "You are aware of its location." It was more statement than question.

She stiffened. A faint flicker of colour running across her delicate cheekbones.

A low dangerous sound rumbled from within Adalbert's throat, impossibly blue eyes narrowed on the woman, his massive frame blocking the doorway and preventing her from even thinking of escaping.

"Stand down, Adalbert." Yuuri commanded his Captain, giving the man a nod and indicating for him to step away from the doorway, not about to trap Lyla out there with them. He was not about to use heavy handed tactics with a potential new ally, also he could honestly understand Lyla's reluctance to admit to the fact she knew the location of the Box when earlier they had discovered that it wasn't where the King had been certain it was. "We are not here to interrogate her. I just wish to speak honestly with Lyla." Dark eyes moved from the shadowed blue of his Captain to the stormy grey of the young woman before him.

"It needs to be moved, Lyla, wherever you think is safe for it…" Shaking his head, his jaw clenched slightly. "It isn't. No matter how well sealed it still is after all this time, it will draw evil towards it. Dig its claws in and grip their hearts. I've seen it happen. King Belar was in long time contact with one."

His lips suddenly curled up at the corners, regarding both Lyla and Adalbert in the same glance. "Between the three of us, I'm certain that we might just be able to not only pull this off and retrieve the Box and get it out of Fransia safely, but so also finally bring an end to King Belar. That man will not remain in his Kingdom, he will be here and he will be watching our every move."

"You plan on baiting him?" Lyla whispered, a small smile curving the edges of her fine mouth.

"I'm planning on catching him, hook, line and sinker."

* * *

><p>"Adalbert." Yuuri's head tipped back slightly to regard the blonde haired man still hovering in the doorway to the balcony, knowing there was one request he needed to make of the man. "If it comes down to it, between myself and Conrart, I want your promise that it will always be him that you protect."<p>

"_Sire_."

"No." Dark eyes snapped at the man, his jaw clenching, needing this promise more than he needed to breath in that moment. "Promise me."

"Sire…" Blue eyes were haunted, his shoulders stiff as he gazed at his King, a man who had rescued Adalbert Von Grantz from the dark place he had ended up in, the hell of his own making. "Do not ask this of me. My loyalty as your Captain…"

"Please." Obsidian eyes clenched shut, throat working as he remembered the agony of loss that had come from the time spent with his beloved cut off from him. A time when… he had almost lost his mind with grief and soul-deep anguish. "Please… I just… I need to know that no matter what happens he'll be protected." A smile touched his lips at the knowledge of just how deadly his beloved could be and how stubborn. "He's… my heart and soul and without him…"

"It will be honour to protect the Prince Consort, my King." The blonde head dipped, blue eyes troubled, but understanding just how hard it had been for Yuuri to speak to him like this, to make such a request. The King had barely let the man out of his sight since the moment they had brought him back from that nightmare at the hands of the Belar.

"Thank you, Adal." A hand lightly brushed against the man's shoulder as he stepped forwards, gazing through the doorway behind the man, his soul already longing to see the one he loved. "I hope it never comes down to it being necessary. I know how stubborn my Love can be when he gets a particular thought into his head." Amusement curved the corners of his lips. "I also know just how bad I can be."

A grunt of absolute agreement escaped the Von Grantz, though blue eyes were still warm with quiet affection. One large hand curled around Yuuri's shoulder, squeezing it lightly and just holding it warmly between his fingers.

"I hope to celebrate your wedding soon." A rather bemusing thought teased him. "I wonder just how interesting your life will be when Gunter becomes your father-in-law."

Adalbert stiffened as the thought crossed his mind and his free hand covered his eyes, head drooping. "Sire, there are some things a man never wishes to think about."

"You should try my in-laws." Yuuri laughed. "I'm related to Wolfram, Cecilie _and_ Stoffel."

Adalbert winced.

"Just wait until Gunter latches onto the idea of Grandchildren."

"Grand… children?" Adalbert's mouth formed the words uncertainly.

"_Yes_. Unlike Conrart and I, you and the lovely Lady Gisela have all the parts required to make little Von Grantzs. Therefore, it's only a matter of time before the idea strikes Gunter, hopefully after the marriage."

Adalbert was pale under his golden tan. Mouth forming the word 'children' over and over again, blue eyes wide and staring off into space, unaware he looked almost like a fish held out of water, mouth gaping open again and again.

With a soft chuckle, Yuuri patted a hand lightly against Adalbert's shoulder. "I'm sure it's ten times worse than even your imagination can come up with." Teasing the other man, he stepped into the hall, humming softly under his breath as he headed towards the chambers he shared with his husband. "Please remember to wake us both before dawn."

All Yuuri got in replied was a muttered curse and pacing footsteps against the stone of the balcony.

* * *

><p>Fingertips trailed over the long, lean curve of his beloved's back, nails lightly scraping over the length of his lover's spine until he reached where the blankets pooled over his husband's hips, covering one of the most gorgeous parts of the man's body. Leaning against the edge of the bed, his throat went dry when powerful thighs strained for a moment, lifting that delicious rear upwards a little. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he was soon pressing his lips over the first silvery scar on one shoulder blade, tongue sweeping slowly along the length of it, nipping ever so gently at the delicate skin.<p>

A husky groan slipped out from between parted lips, when Conrart was slowly being seduced out of sleep by the play of lips and lands over his skin. Like a large sleepy lion, a low rumbling sound almost like that of a purr escaped him as a solid weight lightly settled itself over his blanket clad thighs, pinning him face down amongst the blankets. Scar roughened palms caressed upwards along his sides, tracing each rib, while Yuuri worked his way across the expanse of his back, finding each mark upon his skin.

"I'm sorry I took so long." Yuuri whispered into the long strands that framed one ear, teeth biting at the lobe, tongue flicking into the sensitive curve of it. "But I have to admit, coming back and finding you like this… all sprawled out and deliciously bare… It does things to me, Conrart." His hips rubbed forwards against his lover's, presenting his love with exactly what kind of things the beauty of his lover could do to him. A long dark braid flopped down over his shoulder, coiling a little against the tawny skin of that broad back.

"_Tease_." Conrart hissed out, his head turning, managing to catch a glimpse of the shadowed features of his lover, those dark eyes promising such things that his shaft twitched almost painfully in response.

"You're so tempting," Yuuri pressed against the length of his lover's back, the slide of heated skin against his loose shirt teased the both. "Sometimes I think you're _too_ tempting. That smile of yours…" A small playful growl escaped him at the thought of that beautiful smile being given to anyone else but him.

Hands slipped beneath his lover, slowly beginning to caress his palms upwards, feeling the shiver and ripple of muscles beneath his hands until his fingertips found his lover's nipples. A light brush of calloused fingertips was all it took for him to get a bone deep shudder out of his lover, his mouth pressing against the nape of his neck, nuzzling the long strands just there, listening to the deep groan that sounded from deep within his lover's chest. Tenderly he continued the slow seduction of the one he loved, delighting in each sound of pleasure he elicited from this handsome man whom he was blessed to be able to call his.

Hips bucked backwards, the weight of his lover an enticing promise of what was to come. Heat pants for air escaped him when a hand moved from where it had been tormenting a reddened nipple and moved downwards, drawing tiny patterns across his skin and circled his navel gently.

"I never want to imagine another day without you." Pressing his cheek against the curve of his lover's spine, his warm breath fluttered over the slight shimmer of sweat coating the flushed skin, his tongue lapped at the few droplets within his reach. Slowly his fingers coiled around that velvety skin stretched over hard iron, drawing a hissed breath from deep within his lover's body. His lover's hips squirmed, that large shaft beginning to slide between his scarred fingers.

Yuuri's thumb circled the crown of that throbbing shaft lightly, teasing just under the flare of it, before sliding over the top, his nail gliding through the slit and drawing a powerful jerk of pleasure from his pinned lover. His other hand slipped downwards as well, dropping to touch just beneath that elegant shaft to cup his lover's sac. Gathering it into his palm, he massaged it between his fingers, quite intent on tormenting his lover until Conrart cracked and pounced him. With a smooth motion, he returned to caressing his lover's shaft, tightening the pressure with each stroke, nails scraping ever so lightly against nerve-rich skin.

"_Yuuri!_" The man's voice was a hoarse cry, that big body shuddering with need, desiring for nothing more than his lover to speed up his tormentingly slow strokes. "I _**need**_…"

Leaning upwards, he licked at his husband's ear again, purring into it lovingly. "_Need_ what, my Prince?"

"To be buried deep inside of your body." Conrart whispered back hoarsely, turning himself just enough to capture that teasing mouth with his own, pushing himself up just enough on an elbow to coil a hand into his lover's long dark hair, anchoring him there. Lips parted beneath the insistence of his, sweet and yielding.

Their eyes met in that one heart-stopping moment, pleasure darkened silver-grey to deepest black. It felt as if all the walls had come tumbling down from where they had unconsciously built between them, the anguish and agony of separation, of loss and wrenching grief. The nightmares and emotional scars inflicted upon them both by so many forces both external and internal, even though they had thought they had struggled through it before, rebuilt what they had lost, they both knew they had never truly succeeded.

A large calloused hand slowly reached down between them to curve over Yuuri's side, covering the wide scar that spanned a length of sun-tanned flesh. A single fingertip traced the length of it, stroking tenderly over it, tracking its passage and the way it formed a star-shaped pattern over his liver.

"No matter if we are parted in this life, we will always be together in the next." Yuuri's words were quiet, breathed against the tingling skin of Conrart's damp lips, still hot from the kiss they had shared. "I don't want to hold onto it anymore." Rubbing his nose against his husband's cheek, he slanted his mouth against the corner of those sensual lips, craving the connection that bound them together so intimately. "The guilt, anger... pain... rage... sorrow... regret..." All the things bundled up inside of him, forced into a corner and held there like a festering wound, one that could turn into something far more deadly.

Rolling over onto his back slowly, hot fingers still closed so intimately around him, the movement of his body allowing those scarred fingers to drift along his length without his lover being conscious of it. He welcomed the weight of his lover across his body again, hips settling over his thighs, pinning him in place while Yuuri stretched out over him. Long dark strands tumbled around that beloved face, framing those delicate features, ones that made him desire to do nothing more than to tucked them behind the shell of his lover's ear and gaze into those dark eyes once more.

He could feel the vibration of his beloved's emotions within him, the distant echoes that danced through the undefinable thread that had always linked them soul to soul from the moment of Yuuri's birth. So many things resounded within that iridescent strand that wove their souls together, their emotions echoing each other, raw and unfettered. The hand that had been resting across that almost mortal wound drifted lower to curve around one sexy hip, cradling it in his heated palm.

Yuuri shifted forwards, until his forearms rested on either side of that beloved face, gazing down at him as hands smoothed along the length of his back, stroking him, soothing him. Yuuri could feel a ripple of scales slide just beneath his skin, the dragon within his soul and body settling closer, offering up its protection, willing to guard their hearts from this moment on as they took another uncertain step along their path together.

Conrart leaned upwards to catch his husband's lower lip between his teeth and tugged on it softly, groaning at the sweet taste and the way that sleek body shuddered against his own. "You were trying to seduce me…?"

A bubble of soft laughter escaped Yuuri at the husky tone of his lover's question breathed against his mouth, those silvered eyes promising that day by day they would struggle out of the darkness that had captured them for too long separation. "Trying? I was _succeeding_."

A smile curved Yuuri's mouth, nuzzling the hand that cupped his cheek and nipped at the sensitive skin at the base of his lover's thumb, tongue sliding against the webbing between the man's fingers. A tender kiss was pressed into the calloused palm before Yuuri ground his hips hard over that cloth shrouded erection. Hissing out a breath of masculine appreciation, the friction between their bodies was electric, firing of nerve endings in both of their bodies.

Slowly Yuuri crawled backwards down the length of his beloved's body, lips closing around a nipple as he went, flicking it with his tongue and nipping sharply at the hot little bundle of nerves, one hand paid some attention to the other nub. A nail scraped around it, pinching it sharply, before his hot mouth closed around it completely, suckling hard, drawing the taste of his beloved's skin into his mouth.

Inch by inch, he slid downwards. Long dark hair tangled up in his lover's hands, the strands teasing those erotically abused nipples. Butterfly kisses fluttered over scars and tawny skin, interspersed with biting nips and powerful sucks that brought up claiming love bites on the most sensitive skin. Sliding the sheet seductively lover until it covered only his lover's thighs and that ramrod stiff shaft, he turned his attention to the sensitive crease between hip and thigh, tongue lapping over it his cheek rubbing against the side of that throbbing shaft, rubbing the fabric over it. A low hiss of utter delight was drawn from between Conrart's lips as Yuuri nibbled at that hot skin.

"Turn around." Conrart commanded hoarsely.

Dark lashes lifted from where they had dipped down over lust filled pools of hunger, Yuuri slowed his mouth lightly around the head of that cloth covered shaft, sucking on it through the fabric. Hands clenched tightly into his hair at the contact, Conrart shuddering, fighting the desire to do nothing more than thrust into that scorching hot mouth that promised so much pleasure. With a wet pop, the crown slipped free from between his lips as he lifted his head just enough for every heated breath to slide over that damp fabric making it click to his lover's shaft all the more.

"Why?" His white teeth caught at his lower lip and sucked on it lightly as his eyes dropped back down to the delicious feast spread out before him.

"I want to taste you." He growled out, their eyes meeting heatedly.

"Now that was all you needed to say…" Yuuri purred before turning around and sliding his legs over his lover's chest, leaning forwards so that he could continue his slow exploration of every inch of his lover's hips and thighs, nuzzling and suckling at that resplendent shaft.

A shiver of startled pleasure ran the length of his spine when thumbs traced the soft skin behind his knees, tracing the pair of indentations there and weakened him for just a moment. Drawn backwards, his thighs splayed across his beloved's body, he cried out at the first brush of hot lips against his entrance, a tongue stroking over the quivering rings of muscle. Soft locks of hair brushed against his rear, teasing him with little flutters that made him jerk and squirm, arousal thick and hot in his veins.

Taking his time exploring that sweet little pucker, he gripped his lover fiercely around the hips, one hand snaking beneath one to brush his fingertips lightly over the heated shaft he found there, scraping a thumbnail over the aching slit at the tip. Yuuri's whimper of need and desperation vibrated straight into the shaft that mouth was coiled so enticingly around sent a ripple of pleasure right back through him in response. Both of them were strung out, hungry to be joined once more in body and soul.

Only however, when Conrart was satisfied with just how wet and stretched his lover was did he lift his head from his task, hot breath sliding over that intimate crease. Sliding both arms possessively around that slender frame, he drew him away from his throbbing shaft, even though he knew one more lick would cause him to explode violently. His back hit the headboard, while he drew that sleek body over his own, hissing as squirming hips pressed right up against his shaft.

Cradling that beautiful form against his arm wrapped just under his lover's arms, his face buried into the side of that strong neck, pressing tender kisses behind one ear. His lover's thighs spread on either side of his own, when a possessive hand coiled around his shaft and muscles tightened as Yuuri lifted himself upwards, the tip of Conrart's shaft rubbing against that puckered entrance, parting the first rings and made them both groan in unison. Shifting just a little until the pillows cushioned his lover back and he could slide his knees upwards, forcing Yuuri to curl backwards into him, he just felt the wild beat of his lover's heart pounding against the pale skin of his inner forearm.

Arching his head up to one side, offering up his throat to his beloved, every single inch of his body quivered, while he slowly impaled himself on that rock hard shaft. A long groan came from deep inside of him, eyes clenching shut. Lips stroked the vulnerable line of his throat, nipping and suckling dark marks on his skin possessively.

With his legs spread on either side of his lover's lifted knees, he leaned forwards slightly, hands pressing on his lover's thighs as he began to lift himself upwards, the action making that throbbing shaft blaze straight across his sweetspot and he cried out helplessly. A pleasurable shudder ran from the tips of his toes all the way to the top of his head in response, muscles rippled and clenched powerfully around that impaling shaft. Conrart's free hand dropped to coil around that swaying shaft, beginning to stroke in counter-time to his lover's movements, ensuring that for each moment that passed, pleasure burned through that sleek form.

"Feels so good...!" Yuuri hissed out, chest heaving helplessly in response. "Please... _move_..."

"As my King commands." He purred.

Hips thrust fiercely upwards, driving himself home into that wet, welcoming passage, a hoarse growl rumbling from deep inside of him as his lover's body tightened almost unbearably around him in order to keep him buried inside of Yuuri. The friction was unbelievable, sending tendrils of razor sharp ecstasy through every nerve they both possessed. Snapping his hips upwards, he plunged into his mate over and over again, heat surging, pulsing, and building with every thrust.

Yuuri's name was a hoarse cry on Conrart's lips, their bodies moving together in an erotic flurry of seductive sounds that filled the entire bedchamber. The candles and fire banked in the hearth flickered and flared as Conrart's powers swirled around them. The gentle wind caressing their sweat slickened flesh in long, blissful movements, mingling scorching heat with a breath of cool air that drew goosebumps up across Yuuri's skin.

Yuuri's thighs strained to keep him moving, but he couldn't as each successive way of pleasure crashed over him. Slumping into his beloved's arms, Conrart's pace quickened, their hearts drumming powerfully in time as their left hands coiled together, their matching rings glinting in the low light of the room, entwined metal strands just like their fingers and hearts.

Together they rushed over that ledge and plunged into the welcoming embrace of sensual pleasure. The soldier spilled himself into his beloved King, white-hot seed filling him almost to the breaking point. Yuuri exploded over their laced fingers, face contorting with the utter magic of the pleasure they had created together. Sagging together, dark eyes closed, inky lashes fluttering down against flushed cheeks. Chest heaving as he panted for air, Yuuri tipped his head so that he could nuzzle his face into the firm, muscular column of his mate's neck, breath sliding across tender skin.

"I love you…" He murmured into salty skin, rubbing his nose there as they lay intimately entangled upon the sheets, their bodies shuddering with the wonder and heat of what they had shared only moments before. "I love you, my Prince."

"And I you, my fierce Little Dragon."

A bubble of sultry laughter came from somewhere inside of him. "Am I supposed to start breathing fire then…?"

A smirk touched the corner of his mouth as they curled close together, needing the blissful contact. "You already have… and I melted from it."

"Tease." A possessive hand smoothed across a love-bitten thigh, tracing one of the marks he had left on his lover's skin.

"Lecher." Conrart teased back, lips curving wickedly.

"Only, my Prince, when it comes to you."

* * *

><p>A soft sound slipped out from the back of his throat as a comb slowly worked its way through the long mass of raven hair spilling down over his shoulders and pooling around him on the mattress. His body still tingled from what they had done together, muscles still aching in the most delicious manner reminding him of just how his lover had felt buried deep inside of him, driving home with each powerful movement of those muscular hips.<p>

"It's a dangerous game…" Yuuri admitted softly, appreciating the gentle stroke of his lover's free hand through the ends of his hair, calloused fingertips touching against the muscles of his back. "One that could be deadly."

Conrart lowered his head in order to lightly touch his lips against one sleek shoulder, inhaling the scent of their lovemaking that still clung to his beloved's skin. "Each person who travels with you is prepared to accept those risks."

"I wish I never had to ask it of them." His throat closed up, lashes lowering over dark eyes that were filled with the soul-deep ache of knowing that his orders might result in the death of someone he cared about. "I wish sometimes that…"

"I know." The Prince Consort nuzzled that pale skin, resting his cheek against it, breath teasing a few strands of raven hair which caught in the fine stubble dusting his jaw. "In another life, it's amusing to think that I could have been King. Though, I doubt I would have ever made a very good one."

"I don't know about that." Yuuri responded, inhaling the scent of his lover deeply into his lungs, needing the contact and everything that they shared to reassure his heart in this moment that when the first rays of dawn brightened the sky, he would be the King his people needed him to be. "I think you would have made quite a terrific king, you have all the right qualities for one. You're selfless, protective, fearless…"

"I'm not fearless." The comb dropped onto the bedding, strong arms sweeping around Yuuri's waist and drawing him in closer to his body, wanting nothing more than to keep him in the protective shelter of his arms. "I'm honestly terrified because I don't know what is to come. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I can only hope. I can hope that I can stand beside you, my Little Dragon. Be warmed by the flame inside of you and be able to support you through every trial we are yet to face. Though I think you forgot _stubborn_."

A little snort of laughter escaped Yuuri at that. "I think we are both terribly stubborn, but it's quite an endearing quality."

"Endearing? More like frustrating… how often was Mother stubborn over things or Wolfram?"

Shaking his head slightly, Yuuri felt his heart lighten just a little through just the sharing of everything within him with the one he treasured most in all the world. A hand slipped down and a single fingertip lightly traced over the braided pattern of his beloved's ring. It reminded him of just how entwined they truly were, their lives and that of so many others.

With a reluctant shift, his lashes lifting as his head tipped towards the nearest window as the faintest colours of dawn began to paint themselves across the sky. "I guess it's time we got up and faced the world." Pressing his lips against the prickly skin of his beloved's jaw, he sighed. "Remind me after this to arrange for us to have a vacation. We have definitely earned ourselves one."

"Agreed."

* * *

><p>"I see, so the Demon King and his entourage came here seeking the Box." Yozak voice betrayed nothing of his troubled heart or the tiny flicker of suspicion that danced through his soul at the sight of the King before him. To anyone else, Antoine looked like a nervous young man desperately trying to keep his kingdom and himself out of harm's way. Yet, there was a staunched determination in those eyes, a flicker of defiance that told him that this man was not as weak-hearted as they had been lead to believe.<p>

"That's right. I told you everything I know, so keep your word now, promise?" Brown eyes widened, Antoine leaning forwards on his throne his eyes darting between the faces of the soldiers before him, allowing them to see the true nervousness their presence brought to him. "_Promise_?"

"Of course." Gurrier agreed, though deep in his gut, he knew that wasn't a promise he would be allowed to keep.

Abruptly one of the doors slammed open, bouncing against the stone walls and making nearly everyone in the chamber reach for their swords. It was in that moment Gurrier Yozak caught sight of the soldier half hidden by the long maroon curtains that surrounded the dais, where King Antoine sat. A familiar set of deep, striking blue eyes pinned him to the spot, the long strands of hair hidden away beneath the olive barrette. Griesela Geigenhuber was guarding the King.

"YOUR MAJESTY!" The guard's features were flushed by panic, entire body shivering ever so slightly with whatever had brought him rushing into the throne room without warning. "The army from Big Cimaron is here!"

"What? Oh no…" Antoine swallowed hard around the lump in his throat, wishing that it had not come down to this, but he knew it was the only chance his Kingdom had to escape the grip and rage of King Belar who would do practically anything in order to get his hands on a Box. "Then you…" Brown eyes focused on Yozak, fingers clenching against around the arms of his throat, nails digging into the ancient wood. "Then you lied to me! You told me that you wouldn't do anything if I told you were the Demon King went!"

The heavy boots of a Big Cimaron soldier moved in behind where Yozak was flanked by two of his flunkies, his head turned slightly in order to regard the soldier with narrowed blue eyes. The cling of a sword in its scabbard reminding them all of just how close to death each one of them could come if they stepped incorrectly.

"Lord Yozak, we have received new information about the Box. Please Sir, come with me."

Out of the corner of Yozak's eye he could still make out the shadowed form of Griesela and caught the shadow of a smile on those fine lips and deep inside of his soul, he wondered exactly what the Demon King had planned.

* * *

><p><strong>The Hidden Temples of <strong>**Tronche, Fransia**

Humidity thickened the air, brilliant sunshine blazing down across the thick, rich forests that spread out over the vast slopes of the sweeping mountain range that ringed Fransia. The forest was deathly still, each and every bird and creature having fallen silent as people moved swiftly through the trees, edging forwards through the thick, tangled undergrowth. Cracked branches, crushed twigs and the few stray threads caught amongst the trailing vines announced to every member of that silent party that they were not the first to make their way towards the towering temple, which towered above the surrounding forests.

Yuuri was struck by the rather distinctive Aztec design of the temples that soared above the treetops, their upper slopes already beginning to be overgrown by the very forest they had been carved out of. It almost dragged a smile out of him as he remembered one of the movies he had watched years before in the original English. _Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_. He swore just for a moment as long twisted branches tugged at his already dishevelled braid that he could hear the theme song playing in the back of his skull. The Temple of Doom almost seemed like a rather appropriate title for the temple that appeared out of the dense brush before them, the humanoid shape and gaping mouthed face sending a faint shiver all the way through his body in response.

Heat rippled just beneath his skin, scales sliding beneath his flesh and drawing a faint shiver to Yuuri's skin as the Dragon coiled within his very body and soul awoke slowly. The sparks of fire surged within his blood, fire magic spreading across his flesh and making every tiny hair practically tingle in response.

Step by step, his feet carried him closer towards the army that had been lured right into their trap. It had been so easy to convince the enemy forces that somewhere down there lay the Box. The keen senses of the dragon within merged with his own for just a brief instant of time and he could hear the murmur of voices deep within the dark bowels of the Temple, the stench of sweat and fear filling the oppressive air. He could almost imagine the sight of them, waiting down in the darkness, preparing to strike them down the moment they were within their clutches.

"_It is said that the esoteric masters once used this temple as a training ground." _

He could still remember Lyla's words as she had explained the history of the Temples to himself and the others of his party earlier that morning. It was clear in that moment just how easily he and the others could have been cornered in a place that was extremely hazardous to their people, especially with Conrart's heightened sensitivity to esoteric stones after his prolonged imprisonment in Big Cimaron. Only Yuuri and Ken were unaffected by the rippling waves of esoteric energy that spread out from the temples in a web, one that was ready to ensnare any who got a little too close.

The first muffled thump came from his left as the first of the perimeter guards met a member of their own party. Quickening his step, his eyes fixed on the faint shadow outlined against the brilliant sunshine that slanted in through the trees. His sword cleared its sheath soundlessly as he kept low to the ground, edging his way towards the soldier who was turned away from him towards where the first guard had been brought down.

A second later, a startled bird suddenly went screeching into the sky as the second guard was knocked unconscious. It was the distraction Yuuri had been looking for when the man's helmeted head snapped to the side, watching the back shadow of the bird dart into the cloudless sky overhead.

Launching himself forwards, he covered the remaining yards between them and in one smooth motion his sword arm twisted, bringing the heavy pommel crashing down on the side of the man's skull with enough force to stagger him. Before the man could let out a cry of warning, Yuuri was on him, driving him to the ground, his free hand curled into a fist that caught the man firmly across the jaw, knocking him senseless. Drawing out rope from the pack he carried, he swiftly bound the soldier and gagged him. Though it could have been far easier and simpler to just kill the man, there was no need for bloodshed, something he hoped to avoid if their plans came together and the bait had been juicy enough to actually draw half of Belar's forces down into the depths of the Temple.

A soft birdcall filtered through the thick trees, several more answering it in the same trilling tone. It was the signal to Yuuri that they had brought down the ring of guards immediately surrounding the temple and that meant that their plan was ready to be put into full action.

Sliding his sword back into the scabbard at his waist, he moved towards the main path that wove its way between the trees, to just around the first bend that brought the path directly out of the line of sight of the main entrance. Stepping onto the path from where he had been hidden amongst the thick foliage, Adalbert took only a moment to fall into step behind his king. The man bowed his head slightly in respect to his king as they made their way towards the main entrance. Adalbert had refused to relent on Yuuri going into the mouth of the Temple alone in order to release the dragon within himself, insisting on accompanying him. Considering the man had a partial immunity to the devastating effects of esoteric stones on full-blooded Demon Tribesmen, Yuuri had agreed.

Dark eyes glanced over one shoulder to meet the vivid blue of his Captain and in that moment Yuuri had a little more of an inkling of the very depths of Adalbert's character. This man had walked through the very fires of hell at the death of the first woman he had loved, a woman who had been unable to return the depth of his feelings because Julia had known that she would not be long for the world. Adalbert had dragged himself out of that darkness that had dragged him down into the pit of despair and unending pain... he had held onto himself, his identity and had somehow found a new love with Gisela, a woman who had always adored him more than anyone else in the world.

Adalbert's blond brows quirked upwards in silent question, uncertain why those eyes lingered on his face so fixedly.

"You are the strongest man I have ever known." The Maou quietly explained.

Those blond brows pressed together at the remark. "How so, Sire?"

"You refused to let the world take every part of you. You refused to give in." Yuuri truly admired that in this man, who had found his place in his life and had become one of his most trusted friends. "And you were still able to find room in your heart for Gisela. You make her so happy and I am so very grateful for that as she has eased my soul so many times, she most of all deserves to be loved in a way only you are capable of loving her."

Blue eyes widened ever so slightly, softening as a tiny smile curled the very edges of Adalbert's mouth. "You gave us this chance, Sire. You refused to give up on me, no matter what I had done... you refused to give up on the broken man inside of me and I knew from that moment on..."

A very soft tickle of cool wind stroked against Yuuri's cheekbone, interrupting their conversation. The gentle zephyr slid in an intimate caress over his lips, almost as if the very wind itself was kissing him. However, he knew the touch of this particular breeze, feeling it tease the loose strands of his hair before weaving along the length of his body, offering up its protection. Conrart was with him, no matter the distance or situation that separated them now, they were always together, linked soul to soul.

Shoulders straightened as Yuuri's eyes fixed on the dark, yawning maw of the Temple before them , their conversation dropped. Yuuri could not help but notice the sightless stone eyes watching them from above as they approached it.

Each stride took them closer to that dark entryway, two man-sized figures carved out of the natural rock perched on either side of the opening. One of them bore the trigger that would bring the entire complex crashing down on the heads of anyone inside. It was a last resort, one Yuuri didn't honestly want to contemplate. It would be a needless massacre of people, who might not even wish to fight for Belar. It was more than likely that some had been drafted into service when so many of Big Cimaron's own people had turned against the King, as well as some from all those smaller kingdoms that had been crushed beneath the heel of a man bent on world domination.

From the bright sunshine into the chilling cold of the temple, Yuuri and Adalbert strode. Descending the long staircase into the surprisingly large interior of the temple, the only light that illuminated their way came from a central opening at the highest point in the dome. Even this mild illumination was half-swallowed by long vines that tangled across the ancient aperture, the faint fragrance of the white flowers filling the stale air of the chamber.

The almost imperceptible tang of lamp oil tickled Yuuri's nose before it was strangled by the stench of wet earth and mould. The moment they came to the base of the stairs, there was a puff of smoke as oil lamps set in the walls suddenly caught alit, spilling light across the hundreds of armed soldiers that filled the space, penned in by the ancient walls. The wall sconces also illuminated massive stone heads that towered above them, the statues' eyes fixed squarely on them. His gaze flickered from face to face and across the several catapults arranged behind the first ranks of soldiers. Yuuri had to wonder exactly how the large devices brought down into this space-that was until he spotted the two entranceways that disappeared into inky blackness just behind the ranked soldiers.

"What do you think of the odds?" Yuuri asked Adalbert, where the noble stood tensely behind him, a hand clenching the hilt of his long sword.

"In your favour, Highness," He responded firmly.

"I thought so too."

Dark eyes fixed on the Captain of these soldiers, his uniform a distinctive shade of mustard against the deep browns and greys of the ranks of soldiers forming a living wall behind him. Sunken blue eyes stared back at him fixedly, the man's long hair framing a severe profile, one that showed the disgust and hated he had for everything the Demon Kingdom stood for.

"The Forbidden Box is the property of Big Cimaron and this place will become your eternal resting place." The human's eyes blazed with palpable hatred as he directed his men forwards. "KILL THEM!"

Suddenly the catapults released their first deadly volley of large stones straight for Yuuri, the massive boulders soared through the space, over the heads of the Big Cimaron soldiers.

A blade slashed through each boulder like a hot knife through butter, slicing them cleanly in half and the piece didn't even graze the Maou as the dragon began to unfurl within Yuuri. Every sconce in the entire chamber erupted into miniature infernos as fire magic spilled out from within the dragon and from the depths of Yuuri's own soul.

"The Demon Tribe cannot use their magic here, fear not! _**ATTACK!**_" The Commander's voice echoed above the battle cries of his soldiers as they charged past him in an angry wave, like swarming ants attacking those too close to their nest, unwilling to stop until their opponents were dead.

The first wave was slammed forcefully back into the second as a powerful rush of scorching heat radiated out of Yuuri's entire body. The fires blazing in each sconce answered his call, flaring and flickering dangerously. The natural elements responding powerfully to his command, the water and earth around him shimmering with energy, willing to support him in anything he wished to accomplish in this place.

A bellowing roar rushed up from within Yuuri's throat as the Dragon uncoiled from within him, its flaming wings spreading around him, as it pulled itself free from his body, jaws opening wide to reveal long rows of fangs that could tear a man apart in a single bite. The massive reptile launched itself skywards, flaming wings beating the smoke-laden air. Its head drew back for just a moment before releasing a fireball of superheated gases that slammed into one of the catapults, turning the wooden warm machine into smouldering pieces of kindling.

The soldiers froze as the creature of their nightmares attacked, flying low and sending them sprawling onto the slick stone. Their terror-filled cries echoing through the entire space. Adalbert assisted in taking out the catapults, using the distraction to his fullest advantage.

The earth began to rumble. Vibrating gently at first, but the sound began spreading. Tiny stones skittered across the floor, bounding and jumping as the floor jerked up and down with the force of the energy Yuuri was calling to him. The massive carved faces ringing the walls actually rocked on their pedestals, threatening to topple over.

The first of the Esoteric Masters attempted to attack Yuuri, managing to stand his ground amidst the shaking and the tiny cascades of dust coming down from overhead. A blast of searing energy streaked across the space between the crimson uniformed soldier and the Demon King, stone shot upwards from one side of Yuuri, taking the brutal impact of the blast upon its surface. Solid rock turned into powder under the energetic assault, but the stone shield held.

Suddenly a water serpent slithered upwards from the gapes around the stone, forming rapidly until it flung itself at the human with an infuriated hiss. Jaws closed around the man's hand, prying the stone from within his palm and shattered it into a thousand shards as it twined bodily around the man, driving him to the ground in a constriction of coils.

Smoke and sprays of dust exploded out of the main entranceway as the first of the secondary entrances melted closed from the inside by one of the sheer heat of dragon's fireballs, which melded the red-hot stone into a solid barrier. Yuuri went after the Esoteric Masters amongst the humans, wanting to be certain that every stone was destroyed before sealing the humans inside for a few hours, intent upon making sure that there would be no way for them to be able to make their way out. With a grim expression etched on his face, he stepped forwards, determined that this army would never see battle again.

* * *

><p>Lyla gazed down into the smoke-filled maw where the Demon King and his Captain had willingly gone in order to protect her people and prevent their lands being overrun by these soldiers. Even though bright sunshine streamed around her, she couldn't help but feel a chill ripple up the length of her spine to know she could have sent them to their deaths. Despite her scepticism, she had come to like both men, even in the face of Adalbert's ever so slightly caustic nature in regards to her and what he was clearly aware she was capable of doing in order to protect everything dear to her.<p>

Tiny stones skittered across the bare earth around her, the branches of the nearby trees shaking with the massive amounts of energy that were racing through the earth to answer the summons of the Demon King. He was powerful in a way even she couldn't describe and it honestly frightened her, regardless of the man's thoughtful nature.

She had considered making this place their tomb, to pit the Demon King and his men against the forces of Big Cimaron. A single press of two stones beside the entrance would be all it would have taken to send the entire structure down on those deep down in the belly of the Temple. She had been willing to kill so many in order to preserve the status quo, even though the choice would have haunted her for the rest of her life, she could have made it. A little piece of her soul screamed out at the mere thought of what she was capable of, it terrified her.

"I see."

An unfamiliar voice made her almost jump out of her skin as she stood there, gazing into the darkness, her entire body trembling ever so slightly with the roar of the beast the King had unleashed down there.

"You intend to take out the Great Demon Kingdom and Big Cimaron, but that won't kill the Demon King." Yozak finished, his blue eyes narrowing on the woman who he had met once before when he had come to meet with the King of Fransia. A spark of anger burned inside of him at the thought of someone attacking the Maou, attempting to destroy someone who had already been through so much for the sake of their Kingdom. Yet, he couldn't help the niggling little sensation in the pit of his stomach over the fact that there was something else going on in this situation than he knew, especially since Geigen Huber had been protecting the Fransian King.

Lyla spun, her hands immediately drawing her blades from where they rested on either hip, prepared to strike down the soldier that dared to come far too close to her. However, she was shocked by the appearance of the man before her, recognising him from his earlier visit as the Captain of the snarling pack of hyenas Big Cimaron had sent to negotiate for the Box. "Oh, yeah, what do you know, _Soldier_?" Lyla had to wonder if this was the spy she had been warned about, the one who had been planted deep into Big Cimaron's forces.

Blue eyes grew glacial, Yozak becoming aware of just how silent their surroundings were. _Had the perimeter guards been taken out by the party from the Great Demon Kingdom?_ _Was this entire situation a set up?_ "The informant that told us where to find the missing Box...that was you?"

Colour flushed sharply across Lyla's pale cheeks, every part of her body stiffening at the accusation. She knew that, thankfully, her part in this had been ordered by her King and she had betrayed no one with her actions. Her hands lifted, blades flashing in the brilliant sunlight.

"I do not indeed to fight you." His hands lifted in a show of his peaceful intentions. His head twisted slightly in order to take in their surroundings, listening for any hint of sound, anything that would give him even an inkling of what was happening all around him.

"_What_?" She demanded of him, not relinquishing the grip on her weapons.

"The Maou doesn't support violence."

"And just who _are_ you?" Lyla demanded, feeling a ripple of awareness slide up along the length of her spine to know that if this man made even a single move towards her, he would more than likely be dead at the hands of either Conrart Weller or Gunter Von Christ. "Why should I believe the word of someone who wears the uniform of Big Cimaron?"

Yozak jerked at her accusation, feeling her words nail him squarely through the heart, his throat tightening as he knew just how many who had trusted him he had betrayed.

Suddenly all the birds took flight from their roosts in the highest parts of the temple structure, their shrieks and frantic flapping carried them upwards and away into the vast blueness of the open sky and safety.

The earth bucked violently beneath their feet, threatening to send several ancient columns toppling and bring the entire roof down on the heads of everyone inside. However, before a single stone could topple, the very earth around them splintered, great pillars rising from deep within the earth, spreading like giant fingers around the dome. They supported the roof, as several other wild blasts of esoteric energy attempted to smash their way through the stone skin of the dome, some partially succeeding and spearing upwards into the heavens.

Another wave of smoke and dust was blasted out through the main entrance, slamming into Lyla and knocking her backwards into Yozak's body, her blades thumping to the ground as she desperately tried to protect her face from the stinging impact of hot stone across her skin. A strong arm covered her head, turning her face into his chest, while they crouched together, his white uniform coat being singed and blackened by the sparks that skittered from the entranceway, blown outwards by the dragon inside.

The stone began to liquefy, pooling downwards in long streams, like lava flowing from the rim of a volcano. The entire entranceway of the structure was turned into a tangled mess of bubbling globules, which rapidly began to cool, hardening into a solid plug that wouldn't let anything escape.

Abruptly, everything fell still, so silent that all Yozak could hear was his own ragged gasps for air as he still held Lyla close against him. Small pieces of stone the size of his fingernails still smouldered on the bare earth around them, tiny curls of smoke rising from them, before even they cooled and everything froze.

The wind washed over the treetops, beginning to spiral upwards around the open roof of the structure and draw the noxious smoke up and away from the interior. The force of it almost knocked Yozak sprawling away from Lyla, the powerful coils of energy within that gale whirling around them. Yozak knew this wind, remembered his beautiful Kenta telling him of just how strong Conrart was growing day by day, this demonstration revealing just how much the man had grown since they had last seen each other.

"I believed I was the only one that could protect him..." Gurrier whispered softly to Lyla, feeling her stir within his embrace, his head bowed, feeling the wind tickle against his cheeks. "But I was wrong... so wrong."

And he had acknowledged that his heart could no longer hold onto Conrart as it once had, through childhood and into adulthood. There was no another person in his life that needed him, that needed him to return from this mission he had been given. There were still two Forbidden Boxes to be located. He had betrayed so much... even though he had been under the orders of the Great One, he had still... used the entire situation to his advantage and almost brought about the death of the one he cared for and his King. Gurrier Yozak didn't know if he would ever be able to earn back the trust and respect he had once been given by those who had counted on him.

Kenta Murata stood amongst the trees, his entire heart burning inside of him at the sight of the one he loved before him in so much agony, that face lined with the anguish of what he had done. His feet were rooted to the spot, the rest of him wanting nothing more than to run to him, to hold the man close and forever hold him to his heart. _He was useless._ His body stilled at that simple thought as he gazed out at Yozak, uncertain... unknowing if his presence would only injure the one he loved more. _What did four thousand years of experience get him?_ _Nothing._ He stood and plotted and his entire body trembled with the force of everything that was within him.

From within the depths of the now sealed temple, a brilliant blue radiance erupted into the sky, just as a massive dragon launched itself upwards into the sapphire blue sky. Two dark forms were outlined against the flaming ridge of its back. Yuuri and Adalbert, uninjured and victorious, circled overhead on the back of the magnificent dragon, which dwelt at the core of their Maou.

Lyla could only stare up in bewildered fascination as the scene played out around her, knowing deep within her heard that she was witnessing something incredible, _something_, which gave credence and validity to every rumour and story that surrounded the newest Maou of the Great Demon Kingdom. The world had truly never seen anyone quite like him in well over four thousand years. The best part about the entire thing was that no one would ever quite believe it was possible, unless they'd witnessed it for themselves.

Yozak's head lifted in order to follow the woman's gaze to marvel at the marvellous sight, before his eyes stumbled upon a pair of chocolate brown eyes almost invisible amongst the trees. His heart froze somewhere in his throat at the sight of Kenta, he wanted to call out, to go to the one he loved and wrap him up in his arms.

But before he could even move, a hoarse shout came from somewhere to his left, one of the perimeter guards stumbled out from amongst the trees, frayed ropes hanging from his limbs with Gunter in pursuit. Panic filled the man's expression as he called out to Yozak, shattering the moment between the two lovers and making him stand. There was no way that any soldier would have escaped the talented swordsman, unless... it was part of the overall plan. He caught that in the split second he had before he was jerking away from Lyla and on his feet rushing towards the soldier.

Yozak caught the man up, dragging him upright as they struggled forwards, plunging into the overgrowth together, the sounds of calls from behind him adding to the realism of the moment. Overhead, they could still make out the shape of Yuuri and Adalbert flying high over the hills, back towards the heart of the kingdom. Moreover, he knew Yuuri Shibuya Weller was after the biggest fish of them all, King Belar himself and he was counting on Yozak to get him there.

It was a lifeline and a path to redemption, one he was planning to grip with both hands, no matter where it's twisting unpredictable length would take him. He would be worthy of Kenta Murata.

He swore to himself, he would be, even if it killed him.

* * *

><p><strong>TADA! mini-cliffhanging. <strong>

**Now I thought I would put up a little a question to you my wonderful readers (thankyou so much for sticking with me!) Struck and The Dark Road are almost finished and I have several ideas running around in my head. Here are the two options I'm considering. **

1- **"Arrangement"** A story based on the established continuum of the Anime, where instead of Julia Yuuri was actually in her place. He's not king, but he'll have his own impact. This story is based on the Luttenburg idea. Yuuri would have an arranged marriage to Conrart, but there would be a back history with Adalbert, one which I think would be fun to play around with.

2- **"The Lion And The Wolf"** A story where Conrart is the King of Big Cimaron during the last great war and Yuuri is a weapon to be used against Big Cimaron. Its an extremely dark idea, more so than a lot of other things I've written.

**I'm wanting to write both of them, but I don't know which to do first. LOL Suggestions welcome! **


	40. Part 40: The Bonds Between Us

**Author's Note: Thankyou to all my wonderful friends and to my beta! This was a very lonnnnnnnggggggg chapter. Its literally double the usual chapter length because I wanted to stick as close as possible to the episode its based on. Thankyou to all those that left me such wonderful reviews! You're so wonderful! I've also got a half finished chapter for Arrangements so hopefully that will be up soon too and Struck as well. **

* * *

><p><strong>Belgarde Family Farm, Fransia<strong>

Crickets chirped melodically under the light of a waning moon, its gentle glow illuminating the fields of rich pasture and half-grown crops of vegetables he couldn't even remember the names of. In the distance, tiny flickers danced amongst the hilltops, indicating just how few people lived in this local region. It made Yuuri's heart ache to know that the evils of the past had brought such darkness to this quiet and idyllic countryside. The real Forbidden Box had already been removed from this location, spirited away by Lyla the first night of their arrival, along with her family, to ensure that not one of them would be harmed because of that malevolent vessel.

It was thanks also to this gentle country and its kind-hearted people, which the Box had been able to be entrusted to others to be moved, because the seal that contained the Originators within was still partially intact. However, messages had been sent out the day before to ensure all the forces would be ready for the final signal in order to surround and entrap Belar and to capture the rest of his more loyal forces if possible. Gunter's words during one or two of their earlier lessons had echoed in his head throughout the entire time he had planned everything out with the others in order to pull off this entire scheme: _Preparation is the key to win any strategy._ He had been right.

"Let me do it."

The voice almost made Yuuri jump from where he stood at the window, his dark gaze falling upon Ken as the other man came to stand awkwardly behind him. The uncertainty in the man's stance and flicker of stalwart determination in those dark eyes were so very much at odds with one another.

"Pardon?"

"Let me be the bait tomorrow." Kenta's jaw clenched as he swallowed hard, straightening his shoulders and refusing to back down the moment he had made the offer.

Yuuri set down the cold cup of tea in his hands and turned fully to regard the man so near to him, taking in the lines of strain and heartache in those determined features. His throat closed up for a moment to know that Ken's heart was something that was caught up so deeply in this situation, so deeply that it might either be saved or shattered at a moment's notice. To be honest, he couldn't imagine what it must be like for Kenta, to house so many memories and to finally meet someone that could feel that emptiness inside of him only to realise many viewed the one he loved as a traitor.

"Murata, do you think it's wise to do something like that?" Concern filled his tone, willing to listen to Ken, though he would prefer to keep this man, a long time friend, out of harm's way.

"I've always been the observer. Always on the outside looking in..." How often as a child had he sat watching the rest of his family move around him... unaware of all the things that were inside of him? That if he spoke a single word about the nightmares that haunted him, the hundred lifetimes he had lived, the memories... and languages... the knowledge... so dangerous that he had been killed for what he had known... His throat closed up and he refused to allow his own past to control him, to let it dictate the person he was or who he wanted to be. "Someone looked at me... he looked at me and didn't turn away. I was right there and he never looked through me."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Yuuri's mouth, as he understood that feeling perfectly, that he had found that same kind of happiness and companionship that Kenta had discovered. Warmth spread through Yuuri, when fingertips brushed against the bottom of his long braid, tugging affectionately on the ends of the dark strands. Conrart stood up from the nearby chair tucked beside the window, his long lean frame stretching slightly, before those strong arms slid around the Maou's waist and a kiss was nuzzled in against his temple, expressing the man's silent support to Yuuri. Lifting a hand to tenderly stroke against the arms coiled around his waist, he breathed in the rich, wild scent of his lover.

"I've always... stood in the shadows, plotting... planning..." Kenta's lips twitched in silent amusement and acknowledgement of what Yuuri had managed to do in this situation. "I don't want to do that any longer. I can't stand by while everyone else protects me... while everyone else gets hurt..." Staring down into his own empty palms, he could feel the magic ripple inside of him, stirring after so long in slumber. "I won't be a burden to my friends."

"You never were a burden." Yuuri replied fiercely, treasuring the heat of his beloved pressed against his back, drawing strength from the contact between them. "You kept me sane when... I could have cracked in Caloria. You are the voice of reason when I need it. Sometimes I truly am too stubborn for my own good. Don't discount yourself."

"Still, let me play the bait tomorrow..." His chin lifted, dark eyes gazing at Yuuri steadily from behind his glasses. "Yuuri, I need to do this."

Yuuri reached out a hand, fingers curling lightly around the other man's elbow and squeezed. "Alright, but if you get yourself killed, I'll find your soul and drag it kicking and screaming back to this world."

"It won't come down to that." Or so Kenta hoped fervently, yet his heart only had thoughts of Gurrier within it, knowing that without the one he loved, his soul... would not wish to remain a part of this world. He needed Gurrier Yozak, wanted him... more than anything he had ever desired before.

The Maou could see clearly in those dark chocolate eyes, just how much this man truly loved Yozak. It was a feeling he knew well.

* * *

><p><strong>Big Cimaron Military Camp, Fransia<strong>

Shadows played over the quiet place Gurrier Yozak had found to sit inside one of the storage tents. The sounds and scent of horses and men mingled together with the smoky tang of what was being served for dinner over by the closest of the massive fires that illuminated the dark night.

Though he had not eaten since that morning, the thought of stomaching anything made his insides clench. His hand pressed over his middle and he swallowed down against the acrid bile that rose into his throat. It was rare that he would refuse the lure of food, starvation as a child had made him able to eat practically anything whenever it was available, but not now. Anxiety trickled through his blood, thick and hot. He couldn't shake off the feelings that clawed at him, the knowledge that the one... he loved was somewhere out there, in constant danger where he couldn't reach him.

_If Kenta were hurt... would he know? If the one he loved died..._

His fingers trembled in his lap, his knuckles white as they clenched and unclenched, truly understanding in that moment what it had been like for Conrart. The vicious gnawing uncertainties, the ache inside of his soul and the longing to be close again to the one he loved. Head bowed, strands of amber hair falling over his brow, Gurrier's shoulders hunched, unable to bear the thought of anyone seeing him like this. Anguished shame sliced through him, a wickedly sharp knife that plunged into him and left him bleeding from the inside out. It was a sensation unlike any other that had come before it.

_"What... have I done?"_ The words choked him, lodging in his throat as the stinging burn of tears scratched at the back of his tightly closed lids. _Could he, Gurrier Yozak, ever be forgiven for his crimes?_ Deep within himself, he wondered if the shame and guilt of his actions would ever leave him. He held onto those emotions, gripping them tightly, reminding himself of the critical and reprehensible actions he had perpetrated when he had undertaken this task for Shinou.

He could only hope that he would be able to have a chance to prove himself somehow... to be worthy of the trust of his beloved and his Maou.

Turning his head to gaze into the heart of the bonfire roaring fiercely beyond the flaps of the tent, his heart ached and longed for the comfort he knew he wasn't worthy of, the surcease to be found only in his Kenta's arms.

* * *

><p><strong>The Hidden Temples of <strong>**Tronche, Fransia**

"It appears Big Cimaron has taken complete control of Fransia with its army." Gwendal Von Voltaire gazed down at Gisela as she worked on one of their soldiers that had been injured when they had come to capture and transport all of the soldiers that the Maou had trapped down in the depths of the sealed temple. "Or at least it _attempted_ to."

Many of the military commanders that had become aware of the situation were shocked when it was quickly noted that not a single scout or rescue party had been sent to retrieve those who had been practically entombed within the temple complex. It had quickly become apparent that King Belar had declared these men of no further use to him and left them to whatever fate awaited them. These loyal men had become nothing but pawns to Belar, pieces on a chessboard to be discarded when they no longer fulfilled their function, or were too much trouble to rescue. It was truly disgraceful and showed the dishonest depths the man would go to in securing the Forbidden Box, which still remained within Fransia's borders.

The presence of a significant military force from Big Cimaron located between themselves and the location of the Maou, had already given Gwendal cause to worry. _How would they retrieve the Box without their forces being noticed? _

"So, even if His Majesty and the others have obtained the Forbidden Box, escaping with it may be difficult." Gisela considered as she fastened the bandage into place, ensuring that it was tight enough to keep the poultice secure against the wound. "Even transporting it might draw attention to its location." Gisela couldn't help but worry just how quickly this entire situation could escalate into something far more sinister.

There was the softest flutter of wings and a messenger pigeon swept down between the verdant trees, coming to perch on Gwendal's extended arm. A large finger lightly stroked over the bird's head and wings, lightly checking the creature over and relaxing a little when he could see that there was no obvious harm that had been done to the bird, confirming it had more than likely not been intercepted on its flight to him.

Carefully untying the ribbon that held the small note in place, he unravelled it and skimmed over the neat handwriting and felt a coldness spread through him. His jaw clenched grimly, his gaze sliding down to regard the woman who knelt beside the wounded soldier. "It looks like we will be in desperate need of your skills, Gisela. Soon."

"What has happened, my Lord?" Her voice was soft, worry immediately filled her expression, her thoughts immediately turning to her beloved Adalbert somewhere in the warzone and all those that they cared about. Her fingers lifted to lightly rub over where her heart squeezed inside her chest with concern.

"The Big Cimaron navy has landed in Lutetia, they have already blockaded the harbour and restricted access at the borders. It is clear Belar commands a few more Units than was initially estimated during reconnaissance. I am also uncertain just how long before the Rebel forces arrive and if we can expect support from the Fransian Army." Gwendal's teeth ground together at all the uncertainties that peppered this entire situation, nothing could be clearly predicted, especially now that he knew for certain that hostages that the Maou had provided them with were practically worthless.

Deep navy blue eyes swept the ranks of soldiers that sat quiescent in the wash of pale morning sunshine, their faces and clothes streaked in dust and grime, a few with the dark rust strains of blood on their uniforms. A grime expression etched itself into his handsome face, knowing that this entire situation depended upon the firm, decisive leadership of the Maou in order to pull it off. He just hoped that this time, Belar would not escape their grasp and they would be able to bring a permanent end to his reign of tyranny.

* * *

><p><strong>Paname Castle, Fransia<strong>

"For now, Big Cimaron will be taking full control of Fransia." Intense mint-green eyes pinned the young King in place, his lips drawn into a sharp expression of mild disgust. The Cimaronian officer's gaze flickered for a moment towards the soldier that stood behind the King's throat, his gaze narrowing sharply for an instant, suspicion rising up through him in response to this unknown man's appearance at the side of the young, inexperienced king.

His words had the affect he had been expecting, even the soldiers that lined both sides of the throne room jerked at his declaration and the corner of his mouth curved ever so slightly upwards in arrogant bemusement. The Officer knew without a doubt just how much power he wielded in that moment, that it would only take a word from him to send this King cowering.

Antoine was on his feet, brown eyes skittering for a moment towards Griesela Geigen Huber, seeking reassurance in this man that even though they were playing along, this man would ensure the safety of his people. He needed to be certain, to know his faith hadn't been misplaced in those that had come to him and offered to fight to save his people and contain the terrifying evil that dwelt within the simple wooden Box that so many desired.

"You're going to do what?!" He positively squeaked, voice cracking. Flustered, Antoine's fingers curled into fists as his sides, reminding himself once more that he needed to play this part if they were to pull of this deception. The Officer before him could suspect nothing of what they had planned.

"A temporary condition until the Box has been secured." Mint eyes sparked with menace and an honest promise that every single word and pleasantry that slipped out from between his lips was a lie. Fransia would never again know true freedom, of that his Lord had assured him. "I must ask for your understanding, Sire."

"I don't recall approving anything like this, _**ever!**_" Antoine snapped back in response, his entire body shaking with contained rage at what he knew this man was expressing with his flowery and polite language. He could see it written clearly in this man's eyes the brutality and true cruelty this man was capable of.

It was frightening to know that people like this existed and were willingly given power over the lives and futures of others. Yet, the worst part of it was that there would always be people like this somewhere in the world, twisted and sadistic, willing to do anything in order to control and demean others, to wield power over them. King Belar had become a magnet for these kinds of people, ones that shared his sycophantic desires to dominate everything and everyone with an iron fist. However, the world that was emerging from under the yoke of King Belar was fighting back, refusing to be trampled beneath the boots of men like these and Antoine wanted to be amongst their number.

"We don't need Fransia's approval, Sire." His lips twisted into a merciless little smile, fanatical devotion lighting up the man's entire face. "Because the fact is, **we** serve the will of Lord Belar."

A hand touched lightly against Antoine's shoulder, Griesela feeling every knot of tension coiling just beneath his fingertips, the young Fransian King almost ready to explode with honest rage at the ones who had thought to enslave his people. However, the King understood his touch, calming enough to restrain himself, to keep his head and not give them all away. He had even thought, though, that the young man might actually take a swing at this Officer.

"As long as you obey our orders, your Highness, the peace of your little kingdom of Fransia will be maintained. Is that clear, your Majesty?"

Antoine's jaw clenched, his teeth grinding together, but he refused to answer the man. Every single inch of his body trembled with the indignity and oppression his people would face. It was intolerable, even if it lasted a matter of days, his people should never know such a thing, they deserved to live in peace, without fear of what lurked just beyond their borders and now stalked the very countryside that they called home.

"As clear as crystal." He breathed out.

Slumping backwards onto his throat, experiencing in that moment the frustration of a King who could do nothing but trust in others to protect his kingdom from these rabid dogs that sought to subjugate them. Antoine would be the first to admit that he no longer liked the feeling of helplessness and timidity he had suffered from until the day the Maou had walked into his court and opened his eyes to the possibilities of what he could be if he dared to live up to his position as the King of Fransia.

An image of Lyla came to him in that moment, his heart throbbing powerfully inside of his chest as he watched the Officer spin on his heel and stride out without being dismissed. His hands clenched around the armrests of his throat, fingers digging into the ancient wood and soft fabric, holding onto the thought of the woman he… he _loved_… and released a painful breath. He would not give into his own fears, he would remain strong and keep his faith in the Maou and all those that followed him.

* * *

><p><strong>Belgarde Family Farm, Fransia<strong>

"Hey, what's with all the vegetables?" Ken Murata asked as he rubbed his fingers back through raven black hair, his vision blurring ever so slightly without his glasses on, his gaze sweeping over the cart that had been brought around to the front of Lyla's home.

Yuuri and Conrart had already left, the pair leaving well before dawn when Adalbert had brought news of the first sighting of Big Cimaron soldiers in the area. Everyone knew the plan in detail, hopefully though everything would pull together and they would be lead right to Belar.

"It's a gift from Lady Lyla's family, they insisted we take them." Gunter offered Ken a slight bow and smiled in reassurance, acting out the part."It was hard work harvesting them, but the sweat it produced was quite refreshing."

"These are unusual crops in the Great Demon Kingdom." Adalbert grunted, his large frame shifting, his eyes fixing themselves on Kenta's face, his lips pressing a thin line. "They will be very much appreciated back home."

"But where are we going to put the Box? There's no room now." Kenta could feel the tingle of awareness, the sense that they were being observed and this entire situation was a planned away to make them seem as if they were off their guard and unaware of those who were tracking their every moment.

"It's already on it." Gunter responded, leaning forwards in order to move several pieces of the thick, heavy fruit to reveal the smooth old wood of the Box, which had constructed from the materials on the farm, left inside the house by one of the two groups of soldiers assigned to move it and Lyla's family to safety. The smooth gray of the old wood caught the morning light, when it was partially uncovered, for all in the small group to see. "See?" Gunter offered a genial smile to the Double Black."With all of these delicious vegetables on top, no-one is going to guess the box is on board."

"Big Cimaron soldiers are patrolling everywhere in the kingdom. The only places that will be safe for you are small farming villages like the one you're in now." Lyla spoke up as she moved in to examine the Box, her troubled grey eyes sweeping the faces of those around her, grateful that the Maou and his people had given such thought to the safety of her family. They had been sent to the nearest unit of loyal troops to the Maou where her beloved mother and two younger sisters would be protected and not become bargaining tools later if this conflict got out of hand.

"Looks like you've spoken too soon..."

Every single member of the party tensed, aware that the trap of the Big Cimaron soldiers had been sprung on them. The sounds of mounted troops filled the fresh morning air, the rattle of weapons in their scabbards announcing just how lethal the approaching force could be. Every single armed member of Murata's party immediately reached for the hilt of their weapons, shifting forwards to surround Kenta as if he was indeed the Maou.

The bright yellow ad gold of Big Cimaron's standard fluttered in rows along the high banks and ridge that edged around the house, quite a number of soldiers appearing out of the thick pine forest that stretched out on one side of the neat little house tucked amongst bright green pastures.

"It's them." Kenta murmured to himself, however his eyes however couldn't draw themselves away from who led the troops in this move to capture the Box and the Demon King all in one foul motion. He could see the clear flicker of surprise at the fact that it was Murata in the centre of the protective arch of Adalbert, Gunter and Lyla.

"I can't believe that they tracked us here already." Lyla breathed out, her fingers coiling around the leather wrapped hilts of her short blades, her entire body tensing, her eyes narrowing on Yozak where he sat aside an armoured warhorse before them. Slowly with the softest whisper of metal against wood, the blades were slipped free of their scabbards, the razor sharp steel catching the morning light. A spark of mistrust flared inside of her over the sight of the supposed spy in the enemy's ranks turning up in order to capture the Box. Somehow it seemed too convenient.

"Sheathe your weapons!"Yozak called to Lyla, his blue eyes sweeping over their number before settling onto the cart that rested just to one side, piled high with a variety of brightly colour fruits. Though he couldn't keep his gaze off his beloved Kenta, his heart twisting into knots inside of his chest at the sight of him here instead of the true Maou. A jolt of terror skittered through him, his desire to do something… anything to understand everything that was going on. However, he had at least worked out that in this staged scene his beloved Double Black was playing the part of the Maou. "It's been quite a while, Your Highness."

"Hold on, Yozak…" Kenta spoke up, his chocolate brown eyes focusing on that face hovering there, the man's features blurring as he stood without his glasses, which would have been a distinct give away that he wasn't indeed the Demon King. "What are you doing here? I demand an explanation." His tone was sharp and commanding, just as Yuuri's would have been in the same situation.

"It's a shame, Sire, we must meet again under these dark circumstances." Yozak offered his beloved a grim smile, his blue eyes darkening with the weight of the situation hanging over their heads. His strong arm swept outwards to indicate the ranks of soldiers that surrounded the small group of Fransian woman and Demon Tribesmen. "We have you completely surrounded. You cannot escape. I beg you, stop resisting and surrender. Hand over the Forbidden Box."

The half-breed's eyes were firmly fixed on the wagon, all aware of what it contained. However, Yozak had to wonder if this Box was actually the true Forbidden Box. He could still remember the story his beloved had told him of the switch that had taken place at the Coliseum in the Big Cimaron Capital. Belar was still unaware of what had occurred, convinced he was in possession of a Box still.

"We won't hand over the box," Murata responded firmly, his dark eyes sparking fiercely in defiance, chin lifting sharply. He needed to play the part, to make this as convincing as possible. Yet, in his heart all he wanted to do was embrace the one he loved and take him away from this nightmare of a situation. "We're taking it to the Great Demon Kingdom for safekeeping. If we just ignore this, we'll be inviting another disaster." His expression grew serious as he spoke up a little for the soldiers to hear. "Do you not remember, Yozak, what happened to all the other nations that came into contact with the Boxes? Famine, drought, slavery..."

Yozak shook his head slowly in denial of the facts he knew to be quite true, his eyes sweeping the features of those present, grateful for Conrart not being amongst their number. His crimes were unforgiveable, in regards to Conrart Weller, Dunheely had trusted him to ensure the safety of his son, taken him and his people from that wasteland where nothing would grow and given him a chance to do more with his life than simply starve and die where he fell.

"I have no desire to resort to violence," Yozak stated sincerely. "Please don't force me to do so."

"You really aren't coming back are you, Yozak?" Yet, one look into those vivid blue eyes and he knew it was the one thing this man wanted more than anything. His Gurrier wanted to come home. Though their time together could be marked by the passage of hours, he knew deep down in his soul that the love they shared was real and vital. Kenta Murata would give up everything just to be with the man before him, dressed in the uniform of his enemy. "To our side, _here_, where you belong."

"I told you before that the next time we crossed paths that we were going to be enemies." Blue eyes filled by a lifetime of regret and guilt, his heart there for his beloved to see, he forced himself to speak the words, which were like acid on his tongue. "My life has changed, my only master now is King Belar of Big Cimaron. He has remade me, given me purpose. My only loyalty is to my Master."

"But Gurrier…"

"You…!" Gunter stepped forwards, his violet eyes snapping with cold fire, as he looked the man up and his fingers clenched tightly around the hilt of his sword. "Is that how you truly feel, Yozak? I honestly could not believe you were capable of this level of treachery."

"Forgive me, but we have no more time to waste on this discussion." Yozak quickly dismissed Gunter, not willing to take up the metaphorical knife the man had set down before him. "Now take them!" He directed sharply, sweeping out his arm towards those before them.

Every armed soldier in the front ranks lowered their pikes, the elegant curved blades tipping each long shaft. The movement had been so in time, that it demonstrated in that one instant just how well trained these particular troops were that fell under Yozak's direct command. They advanced a step, promising swift and lethal force would be used against any that thought of resisting them.

"Traitor," Lyla breathed out, her bare blades lifting in response to the obvious threat, her grey eyes capturing those of bright blue, remembering their last encounter. Deep within her, she truly was uncertain if this man was a spy or had truly changed sides. Despite the shadows that lurked in that gaze, she couldn't help but question his integrity. "_Traitor_."

That single word drove through Yozak's heart like a spear, his fingers tensing painfully around the reins of his horse, nails digging into his own skin. It was a word he had heard so often during his lifetime, yet it held truth to it now for the first time in his life. He, a man who had fought beside the Lion of Luttenberg now stood on the opposing side, the one that had almost destroyed their beloved Kingdom in the war twenty years before.

"Stand down." Kenta breathed out, loud enough for those around him to hear. Deep down inside of him, he could feel his beloved's pain, he knew just how much this entire situation must be hurting him. "We are outnumbered."

"How can you do this?" Lyla challenged Yozak, refusing to back down quietly. "How can you go against your King?"

Adalbert shifted from where he had stood silently, his powerful frame moving up beside Kenta, his hand reaching out to lightly rest against the Sage's shoulder. His eyes levelled on the man before him, wishing for an answer himself. Though fragmentary reasons for what Yozak had done had been provided, nevertheless there was still so much left without explanation or honest reason. The moment his hand had dared to touch the Sage's shoulder, he had seen the immediate and visceral response in Yozak. Even if this man never again swore loyalty to the Maou, he was loyal to the Sage and for now, it was enough for him to accept this outcome.

"He is not my King as I have stated before. I am loyal only to my Master." His horse stepped closer, the massive creature edgy beneath its restless rider. "Do not resist or you will force me to use more drastic actions to retrieve the Box. Come quietly and no one will be harmed."

Lyla glared daggers at Yozak.

"Our primary objective here is to survive and fight another day, I'm certain we'll get that chance. Put down your weapons." Dark chocolate eyes looked upon Yozak with a deep trust, one that he would not allow any other to shake. "We _**surrender**_."

* * *

><p><strong>The Road To Big Cimaron, Fransian Border<strong>

The steep cliff dropped away both above and below the winding dirt road that wove its way through the rugged terrain of the mountains that encircled the small, but prosperous kingdom of Fransia. The shriek of a bird of prey echoed across the landscape, its shape dark against the vivid blue of the sky as it circled above the large contingent of mounted cavalry and infantry who escorted not only the supposed Forbidden Box, but also the captured party from the Great Demon Kingdom and her allies.

Gunter Von Christ felt his very soul ache to know that this situation was unfolding, his heart not quite able to trust in Gurrier Yozak after the treacherous way he had acted against not only their Maou, but also against the King's Consort. Yozak had turned Conrart into a _prisoner_, holding him in a place that had turned almost deadly for the man. Even after Yozak had apparently become aware of the fact Conrart Weller's left arm was a Key to one of the Forbidden Boxes, one of which had been in King Belar's possession at the time, he had still not released him. In acting out of selfishness, greed and a mistaken belief that Conrart could love him, Yozak had left lasting marks upon Conrart and his very soul. Yozak had been one of those Conrart had trusted most, had gone through hell beside him and then betrayed him in the most visceral of ways.

Violet eyes turned towards Ken Murata, the Great Sage of Double Black, his heart going out to the man as his eyes couldn't help but return time and again to the figure of Yozak as he rode before them on the road back to Big Cimaron via the edge of Cavalcade territory. Deep down inside the Royal Aide hoped that the Sage wouldn't also find himself the victim of Yozak's betrayal, that whatever words of love spoken between the two were the truth. _Would it be enough?_

"If they bring me back in addition to the box, I imagine Big Cimaron's King Belar will be pleased and reward them well." Ken's voice so soft that the wind that whistled up the length o f the steep cliff-side almost swallowed it up completely.

"That is true, I am certain they could get anything they asked for." Adalbert rumbled in response to Ken's statement, the man glancing over to their faux King. Trussed up like a turkey, Adalbert rode on the back of a horse that was straining beneath the man's substantial bulk. "Maybe a man would love to claim responsibility for your capture."

The Aide turned his attention back to Yozak, a vicious kind of uncertainty clawing around inside of him. Gunter refused to allow the others to be placed into a situation that depended upon being able to trust Yozak, without knowing for himself the fidelity of the man. Even if the act of it cost him his life, he was willing to test the man before they ever reached their destination.

Slender wrists began to twist slowly within the ropes that bound them, fingers twisting up to rub at the knots as they continued forwards on towards what could be a deafening triumph or a sound defeat for their people and their allies. Sparks of pain rippled up along the length of his arms, yet he ignored them as his skin was chafed, small trickles of blood soaking into the heavy hemp ropes and allowing him to slid his hands free. With a good wiggle, those around his shoulders and arms began to loosen and his eyes swept over the scene, every ounce of training and knowledge coming to the forefront of his mind as his eyes narrowed ever so slightly on one of the soldiers walking just before them on the road leading one of the horses.

Kenta's head suddenly jerked around the moment he heard the sudden nicker of the horse, the whisper of ropes sliding to the ground and he let out a startled yell as Gunter suddenly vaulted from the back of the horse, a whirlwind of coordinated movement. A long wave of lavender-grey hair swirled in his vision, just when the freed swordsman ambushed one of the guards leading his horse. Within an instant, the soldier had been disarmed without him even realising it.

Chaos erupted amongst the soldiers, shouts and clamouring cries of **"GRAB HIM!"** echoing out.

Yozak suddenly reined in his horse, spinning his mount about so that it stood across the path and halted all those behind him in order to make sense of what was going on. "What's going on?!"

Startled blue eyes suddenly turned down to look into the narrowed ones of violet, shocked by the swiftness of this man who was so frequently underestimated. In those eyes, he could see the true mettle of this man, the simpering and overly excited fool evaporating away to leave behind the true heart of this man, the dedicated soldier and loyal retainer of the Maou. Silver flashed in the afternoon sunlight, the pilfered blade ready to take Yozak's head if he so much as made the wrong move and underestimated his opponent.

"Don't, Lord Von Christ." Yozak warned.

"My ropes were too loose." The Demon Tribesman stated simply, one finely arched brow lifting. "You haven't been training your soldiers well, Yozak. I would have expected better standards from a survivor of Luttenberg."

"_Quick! Grab him!"_

Several of the soldiers were crowding forwards, their blades already drawn, ready to subdue this man once again, be it to place him back into chains or by ending his life.

"No need to panic soldiers! Just be _silent!_" Yozak's snarled, disgusted by the display of ineptitude of these particular troops. For all of Big Cimaron's might, most of it depended upon sheer numbers and fear tactics than any finesse or skill.

"**Agh!**" The swordless guard stared at his empty hand when he had reached for his blade, realising that he had actually had his weapon stolen from him in that brief instant when the Tribesman had moved past him. "Oh no, _my sword!_"

"Gunter!" The Sage's cry sounded above the din. "No, don't! STOP!"

"Von Christ." Adalbert growled out. "Cease this..."

"Don't try to prevent me from doing what needs to be done. There is something very important that I would like to ask Gurrier Yozak." Gunter Von Christ would not back down, would not back away, not when lives could depend upon the fidelity of the man he stood against.

"Stop all this foolishness." The Half-Breed pleaded quietly, his eyes sliding over the face of the one teacher that had meant more to Conrart than anyone else in that entire academy. This man had never given up on Conrart, never stopped trying to reach the young Half-Breed that had been angry with the rest of the world on their behalf, straining to make all those around him acknowledge those like them. "Do not do this."

"I need to know." Gunter's chin lifted, eyes locking with Yozak's and the intensity of his gaze actually made the other man glance away, not quite able to hold the intensity of that stare. "But why did you betray His Highness and his beloved Consort? Can you give me any reason at all that I can understand why you of all people would betray their trust?" His question was direct, but filled with a note of pleading. What reason could there be that this man would act this way? Was he truly a traitor, playing both sides against each other? Or was he a man who had beneath all that he had done had a reason to start him down this road that had brought them to this moment. "If you won't answer me, then I will ask with my sword. _Well_?"

His azure orbs hardened, unable to give up the answer to that question, especially not here. "You leave me no choice."

Yozak's own sword slipped free from its sheath, before they two men met each other, blades slashing in deadly arcs of cold steel. In the next movement, the amber haired Half-Breed used his dismount to gain a single moment of advantage, driving his opponent back a step. Their swords met again with such violence, Yozak's entire arm vibrated with the force of that single swing. They were an even match, Gunter's determination and skill matching up against Yozak's experience in true bloody combat.

"You were the most loyal to the Prince, your loyalty _unquestionable_." Gunter's words were sharp, unyielding, but his eyes were focused, reading everything that flickered even briefly across Yozak's face. "You were his companion since childhood... and through the fires of hell. _So why...?_ Why did you betray not only the Prince, but also our King? Why would you trample upon his happiness for your own selfishness? Why would you turn your back on the Great Demon Kingdom and become loyal to those that caused the death of your mother?"

Guilt flared for a moment as Gunter asked the same questions Yozak had asked himself. But his gaze flickered to the side, blue seeking out the sweetness of darkest chocolate and saw the anguish in that gaze, the pain there... on his behalf. _Love_.

Violet eyes widened ever so slightly at the expression that touched Yozak's features and his heart let out a cry of relief for only a moment. "Answer me?!" The Aide pressed verbally, putting his weight behind his blade on the next spinning strike, not about to let that brief moment of realisation stop him. He needed to know if that love would be enough. _Could this man be trusted?_

"_Stop_," Kenta pleaded them both, his entire body trembling. "Please... stop..."

"If you will not return to your place at the Prince's side, then at least tell us the reason you _betrayed_ him."

Lyla jolted, grey eyes widening as she watched helplessly as a powerful downward thrust suddenly drove Gunter dangerously backwards. The man's boots were sliding backwards towards crumbling edge of the roadway that stood over a hundred feet above the churning river down.

An eagle shrieked from somewhere overhead. Its large shadow darting across the sun over all those halted on the mountain road. Its cry echoed through the tension-filled silence.

"STOP!" Adalbert roared, struggling within his bonds this time, knowing that Gunter might just lose his life in this stunt. "Von Christ! Yozak! That's enough!"

"_Gurrier!_" The distress in Kenta's voice was palpable, the faux King squirming so much that he slid right off the back of his horse and slammed painfully hard onto the solid stone. He hit the ground so hard, his teeth rattled inside of his jaw, dust stinging his eyes and bending with the moisture around his eyes, making the dust stick there, blurring his vision further. His head twisted to watch the scene turn from confrontational to lethal. "No...!"

"You're losing your touch, soldier." Gunter goaded, his sword lifting once more, entire body tensed and prepared. "Last chance, tell me the truth, Yozak, have you truly abandoned those you swore your loyalty to?"

Yozak's face went passive in response to those words, his features the mask of a trained soldier who would not be baited. Gunter struck first, driving in low, forcing Yozak to parry the vicious thrust that would have drive Gunter's sword right through Yozak's chest if he hadn't parried it. The next intense exchange of blades drove Gunter backwards, however, right to the disintegration edge of that perilous drop.

_CLANG!_

Unexpectedly Gunter's hands were suddenly empty, his pilfered blade spun end over end until it buried itself half way to the hilt into the side of the vertical wall of the cliff that rose on the other side of the path. The sword vibrated in place, showing just how powerful the blow had been to bury it so deeply into solid rock.

"You want my answer, _**Sir**_. Then here it is!"

Yozak lunged forwards, blade sweeping out in a deadly arc, catching Gunter across the chest.

Gunter's own desperate attempt to escape that deadly swipe sent him suddenly tilting backwards into empty air. Disbelief flashed across his handsome features as he gazed into Yozak's face clearly, where the man stood so close to him, seeing something in that moment in his murderer's features the answer to his question. An answer he would take to his grave. Soundlessly the man toppled backwards, without a scream or a cry of any sort, Gunter Von Christ's life tore from him. He disappeared as if... he had never existed. The only sign of his passing was the soft flutter of clothing as he plunged downwards.

The eerie shrieking-cry of the eagle somewhere high above sounded once more as it too plunged downwards, though instead of ending its only life it would be snatching away another's. Death would follow swiftly at the sharp bite of its talons.

Stunned silence filled the entire crowd of soldiers and prisoners alike as Yozak turned calmly and re-sheathed his sword at his belt. His blue eyes stone cold, his icy stare moving over the faces of those three that remained of the party they had captured.

"It can't be..." Confusion and disbelief flashed across Kenta's face, tears sliding slowly down over his cheekbones as he struggled up onto his knees, his hands still bound tightly behind him. "It... just can't be..."

"Do you… do you realise what you've just done?" Lyla whispered brokenly, shaken to the depths of her soul. Her features were ashen, her grey eyes wide in her ghostly pale face. "You... _killed_ him."

"_**Impossible**_." Adalbert hissed.

Nothing they said affected Yozak as he straightened his uniform with steady hands. "I sincerely regret what has happened just now." He responded icily. "However, to avoid further incidents I hope that you will obey my orders from now on."

All remained silent at the coldness of Yozak's response.

Tears couldn't help but trickle down Kenta's cheekbones as he stared at his beloved. "Why...?"

However, no answer was to be found written on those impassive features.

* * *

><p><strong>Fransia-Cavalcade Border<strong>

Wide sweeping peaks thrust upwards towards the clear blue skies that stretched so frequently above Fransia. The scent of fir and cedar filled the wind that drifted down over those high peaks and the untouched wilderness of these beautiful mountains.

However, even with all this beauty surrounding them, the breeze that touched Ken's face was bitterly cold, chilling him straight to the bone, reminding him that they had already travelled a considerable distance through the winding roads and passes of this mountainous countryside. It would be quite difficult for anyone to find them given the thickness of cover and the multiple roads that wove through this untamed wilderness.

His eyes hadn't strayed from the figure of his beloved, unable to make sense of the man's actions, of what had unfolded hours before on that mountain road. He could still remember the flash of startled surprise that had spread across Gunter's face when the man had realised that he might just have met his end. Deep down his heart refused to give up on the one he loved, Kenta was unable to question what he had seen just yet, for he could come up with no explanation for why Yozak had done what he had done. _Was… Gunter really dead? _He didn't know.

"These mountains are beautiful." Yozak's voice cut through the steady rhythmic sounds of the procession; wagons, mounted soldiers and infantry. "The scenery will change very soon, so take a real good look at it." Blue eyes scanned the distant peaks, taking in the exquisiteness of vista without truly seeing it. "It will be a comfort to you later, for you will find the prisons of Big Cimaron are extremely harsh."

"I wouldn't expect them to be pleasant, _considering_ the way they usually handle our people." Adalbert responded sarcastically, his jaw working. "Considering the way they treated the Prince Consort."

"That mountain range borders the nations, and once we've crossed it we will be in Cavalcade." The main paused for a moment as he studied the entire landscape around them, clearly weary. "I don't see any soldiers guarding it…"

Kenta's head twisted, taking in the landscape around them, studying every inch of it and clearly just as surprised as Yozak seemed to be that there was no one guarding it. It seemed surprising that they hadn't met with a single Cavalcade or Big Cimaron patrol. _Was this the place? _His eyes scanned every inch of their surroundings, yet even he couldn't catch even a glimpse of what was around them, only the subtle awareness that a trap was slowly being sprung, as to whom was the one it was upon, even he couldn't determine it.

"They must have pulled out when they heard we had captured you." Yozak concluded swiftly.

The silence was suddenly filled with the sound of an approaching army; the jangle of metal harnesses, the nickers of horses, the sound of commanders bringing their soldiers into order. It was a sight that both relieved and horrified Kenta, his dark eyes focusing on the half a dozen horses that were required to pull the massive, metal box that someone had shaped into a carriage.

"_It's King Belar!" _

It seemed like a wave of renewed energy had spread amongst Yozak's troops, every head turning to gaze at the carriage with the kind of adoration that should never be directed to a man who would sacrifice each and every one of these soldiers without a second thought. Whereas so many others had become discontented and rebelled against Belar, joining the growing numbers of the groups that planned to remove this man from his position of King, these soldiers still remained fiercely dedicated to this tyrant.

"_King Belar has come!" _

"_The main force has arrived!" _

The entire meadow that stretched before them was slowly filled with the forces that emerged from one of the paths that emptied out into this vast open space between the two sweeping slopes of forest covered mountains. Rank upon rank filled up, settling into orderly phalanxes as they surrounded the approaching carriage of the King, protecting it with their very bodies.

"Stop! Stop!" Yozak shouted, when he sent his stallion bolting forwards in amongst the soldiers, calling them to a stop as he rapidly approached the side of the King's carriage. His fingers tightened around the reins and the leather gave a soft squeak of protest beneath his rough touch. "King Belar!"

Drawing his horse to a stop, he could feel the tension immediately ratchet up the moment he had approached the King, every single soldier around him tensed to cut him down if he so much as made the slightest move against the man.

"You've done a great deed for your country, Lord Yozak." Belar remarked from the sumptuous interior of his moving fortress, his pale brown eyes slid over Yozak's face. "Capturing not only the Box, but even the Demon King as well."

"I'm honoured." Gurrier hurriedly replied, his surprise visible for only moment before he buried it beneath a stoic and respectful mask. "I never imagined you'd travel out here to greet me, My Lord."

"I grew impatient thinking about obtaining the Forbidden Box, you understand. Will I be in your way?" The man questioned slyly, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, though his tone remained remarkably pleasant.

"Not at all, my Lord… Please allow me to show you the Forbidden Box immediately."

A flicker of suspicion spread itself over the human King's features, one that remained.

* * *

><p>The hitched wagon held the blue patterned wooden Forbidden Box, its ancient wood almost grey in the afternoon sunlight as King Belar examined it with great interest, his hands stretching out to hover over the wood. There was a palpable excitement in the man, his expression etched with a thousand little emotions that all swirled together into something insidious and almost gleeful in its cruelty. There was a visible darkness inside of this man, one that all could see as he leaned in lower, one hand sliding over the smooth wood surface with a sound of appreciation.<p>

So much exposure to one of the Forbidden Boxes had already warped the man's mind, twisting him up and driving all that might have been good in him out. The shadows seeped from the very man's pores, cloaking him in their perverse embrace, which were now rooted deep within the man's very soul.

"So I possess two Forbidden Boxes," He murmured more to himself than to the Half-Breed who stood beside him. "Now that I have _Hell's Fire in Frozen Land_."

"With them, no nation can stand against you." Yozak responded to the comments the King had made, his tone respectful and soft, actually scared to break the almost hypnotic trance the man seemed to be in as he touched the Box. "And with the Maou captured, you'll have an advantage in negotiating with the Great Demon Kingdom. As a result, Sire, you'll be closer to unifying the world from a position of strength."

"Negotiations with the Demon Kingdom?" Incredulity flashed across Belar's features, he chuckled to himself as if finding the very notion to be the most amusing thought he had had in quite some time. "If the Demon King were to die somehow, then my victory is assured, is it not? It would crush the very spirit out of those that oppose me to see his dead body left for the vermin to feast upon."

Gurrier Yozak froze, physically glued to the spot for a heartbeat, before visibly relaxing.

"We shall execute the Demon King right here."

Kenta's eyes widened ever so slightly, every part of him trembling at the thought of what his beloved was going through in that moment, confronted by a person that wished for him to be slaughtered right on this spot. It seemed the human King was no longer wishing for a public spectacle like the one he had arranged for Conrart's execution. It was clear Belar wanted to leave nothing to chance. Death was not a new concept to Ken Murata, when one had spent a lifetime dying and remembering each one. Yet this… he couldn't help but feel the cold pang of fear creep into his very soul.

"_Understood_." Yozak responded coldly, the ice frosting his tone. Glacial blue eyes turned on Kenta, pinning him to the spot, not an ounce of emotion lurking within them, only the steely determination of a soldier doing as he was commanded.

Silence filled the space, reality a brutal whip as it landed upon all of their heads.

Dragged by the nape of his neck, he was wrenched powerfully from the back of the horse he had been forced to ride upon and flung to the bright green grass of this grassy meadow. The wind was driven from his lungs as a booted foot landed hard against his ribs. The powerful blow came again as he struggled to right himself and push himself to his knees without the use of his bound hands.

"Kneel." One of the two guards on either side of him hissed angrily. "For your _execution_."

A sword touching the curve of his throat as he forced himself upwards, his sides throbbing painfully, but he refused to give either of them the satisfaction of seeing his pain. His body straightened, his expression turning defiant as he heard the roar of anger from Adalbert at the way he was being treated. It required a dozen guards to subdue the massive Demon Tribesman, his ropes straining to keep him down. The cold of that blade pressed just beneath his chin, the razor sharp edge slicing into his skin, drawing a faint red line across the length of his throat.

"Stand down, Adalbert!" He ordered fiercely, reining in his terror and trusting in those who stood at his back and wouldn't allow him to truly come to harm. "Allow me some dignity."

"_Sire_…!" Adalbert growled out.

"I am not afraid of death." It was the loss of all that could have been with his beloved Gurrier, the happiness he had had a true glimpse of. He did not want to be another person his lover was forced to mourn, to be forced to witness the death of. _I'm afraid of leaving the one I love._

Belar seated himself upon a throne that was hastily unloaded from one of the heavy wagons that had accompanied the troops this deep into enemy territory. Leaning back, his eyes shone with a dark, sadistic gleam within their depths as he watched things playing out just as he wished for them too. One hand lightly rubbed against his jaw, his lips curving into an anticipatory smirk.

"My greatest victory," He murmured to himself. The smile upon his lips grew with each word, the sinister side of this man becoming evident to all. "Not only have I gained the Box, but I also get to slay the head of the Great Demon Kingdom, who has long been my archenemy. Yes, this is truly the greatest day of my life."

"No, Milord." Yozak responded to the King's declaration. "There still remains the day when you dominate the world."

Pale brown eyes flickered towards the Half-Breed who stood beside his throne, before suddenly bursting out with a maniacal laugh that sent chills down Kenta's spine at the heartless sound. "By Jove, you're right! Now, let's begin." Eyes fixed on the man beside him, a calculating look forming within moments. "You, Lord Yozak, do the deed yourself."

"Yes." The reply was simple, yet marked a turning point where no one was quite certain of the outcome.

Kenta's eyes widened as he watched his beloved approach him, the closest they had been in days. His heart began to pound wildly in his ears, so loud it sounded like a drum struck inside of his skull and resonating within the confines of his mind.

There was another howling bellow from Adalbert, the man refusing to remain confined, attempting to fight his way to Kenta's side and protect him. It literally did take a dozen people with extra ropes to be able to secure the massive Captain of the Royal Guard, sending him sprawling to the earth and using the weight of their bodies to pin him in place so that he would be able to watch the situation as it unfolded. It was clear they wanted both Adalbert and Lyla to witness the death of the faux Demon King.

Kenta's head tipped upwards, gazing into the beautiful vivid eyes of his beloved as he stood over him, that powerful form trembling almost imperceptibly. Yozak's blade cleared its sheath slowly, the bright gleam of metal right there before Kenta's eyes.

"This particular blade should be most suited for slaying the Demon King." A thumb touched against the side of the blade, indicating just how razor sharp it was as a small streak of crimson was drawn from the calloused pad, much to the snickered approval of the guard who had threatened Kenta only a minute earlier.

"We'll we've come a long way on this journey, your Highness." Gurrier spoke softly, his voice only for Kenta's ears. "Do you believe in the power of time? Time really can grant you true happiness, but it takes everything from you in the very end. I waited a lifetime to know such happiness and each moment time granted me I have treasured." His sword lifted high, ready to strike down the man who knelt before him, to plunge the very tip of the blade straight into his heart.

A roar of fury rose from Adalbert, while the man desperately fought to free himself, clawing to get to Kenta. The man actually managed to get a few inches closer, every muscle straining to reach the Sage who was about to be struck down by the one he loved. Lyla's own cry mingled with Adalbert's as she too fought for freedom, to prevent the execution that was about to take place before her very eyes.

"And this is the final conclusion." Yozak's voice was steady, calm. There was a strange kind of peace and acceptance in the man's features, as if he knew something that Kenta could not even begin to fathom. "All of our time together has led me to this moment."

The blade swung downwards, a deadly arc.

_"I love you."_ Kenta whispered from the depths of his soul, unafraid and unwilling to turn away. No matter what anyone else said, he truly did trust in the one he loved. Gurrier Yozak would never hurt him and he had faith in the man.

The blade buried itself deep into something soft and yielding and Kenta pitched forwards, entire body sprawling slowly forwards. The world reeled in those few moments, his body refusing to respond.

_Was he dead?_

Time seemed to freeze for long heartbeats.

_Ba-dum..._

_Ba-dum... _

Warmth wrapped around Kenta's body, halting his forwards motion as his face pressed into the solidness of a masculine chest. An arm coiled around him, drawing him closer as a sword blade was deflected somewhere above his head, saving him from the blow that would have severed his head cleanly from his neck.

His ropes were the victims of Yozak's blade, uncoiling and dropping uselessly to the grass around him. The Sage knew in that moment his faith and love had never been misplaced, when they had been given to this man. _I love you._ His soul whispered to the one he loved, grateful to know that their time was not yet over.

* * *

><p>There was a moment of complete silence, so many eyes watching the scene playing out before them but not knowing quite how to react.<p>

"Lord Yozak, have you completely lost your mind?" Belar roared as he stood, entire body quivering with rage at the act of betrayal perpetrated against him.

Yozak cradled his lover close against him, his cheek pressed against the top of that silky head, just feeling the heat of that precious form soaking into every inch of his chilled body. The words spoken to him in those last few moments between himself and his beloved echoed through his heart and soothed his tortured soul. Kenta was more important than anything else in his life, the hours spent in this man's arms being the only true kind of happiness he had ever known. _It was home. _

"I love you too, Sweetheart." He breathed into those soft locks, taking this one moment for himself, before reluctantly releasing his beloved. "More than I can ever find the words to say."

Rising to his feet, he spun, deflecting another slash from the first guard that had attacked them, his blade finding a home for a brief instant in the first man's flesh, a low growl rumbling up from inside of him at the thought of what they had done to the one he loved while he had been helpless to act. The other guard followed with a second efficient swipe, their bodies crumpling on either side of them, thick blood staining the grass beneath their collapsed forms.

With a bellowing, Adalbert shook off those holding him down as if they were merely pesky flies that simply irritated him. The ropes giving one last noise of protest before the fibres came apart under the strain and the man freed himself. A moment later, he was freeing Lyla and both were seizing weapons from the nearest soldiers. The pair fighting their way through the waves of soldiers that stood between themselves and the pair.

"KILL THEM!" King Belar practically shrieked, his rage boiling over explosively, a finger raised to aim straight at Yozak's chest. "Kill the Demon King and that traitor before they get away! _I want them_ _**DEAD!**_"

Yozak flashed Belar one of his charismatic smirks, his blade up and ready to protect the one he loved even if it cost him his life.

Archers moved forwards through the ranks swiftly, their bows already drawn by the time they answered their King's command. Two dozen bright metal arrowheads aimed straight at Yozak, however, he did not finch from them or attempt to retreat. If he did so, he would expose his beloved Kenta to those deadly bolts and he refused to consider it for a moment. Hands were already tugging at his clothing, desperately trying to pull him down and away from the danger, his lover wishing to protect him even though he was a traitor who had turned against two masters already.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Blades met the spray of arrows with powerful, rapid swings, splintering shafts and deflecting others, which buried themselves deep into the thick grass around not only Yozak, but also Lyla and Adalbert.

Pain radiated out from every inch of his body as lethal projectiles slipped past his guard and penetrated into his flesh. Every breath suddenly became an almost desperate struggle for him, yet he refused to allow his enemies to see his weakness. Not until he knew his beloved was safe would he allow his wounds to slow him down. Defiance was written clearly on his tanned features, his blue eyes sparking brightly.

Though he had fallen to one knee, his sword remained steady, his knuckles white where he gripped it tightly. Air rasped in and out of his lungs and abruptly stilled within him when warm hands touched against the back of his shoulder blades, warm lips touching against the nape of his neck, breath tickling the ends of his hair. Yozak's heart almost skipped a beat as words were whispered into his ear.

_"Don't you dare give up on me."_

His fingers tightened even more around his blade, his chin lifting, clinging to the strength those words gave to him. He wanted to be worthy of this man, he wanted to be worthy of Ken Murata's love and the faith the man had placed in him. Even if his wounds killed him, his soul would keep fighting to protect this man. Pushing himself to his feet, he could feel his beloved behind him, lending him strength. It was like sunshine was being poured into his soul, streaming into all those dark places, renewing the hope within him for a future with this beautiful man.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, three arrows quivering with each breath he took, but his legs stood firm beneath him, the heat of Kenta against his back. "I am Gurrier Yozak, born of both Demon Tribe and Humans. I have broken my promises, shattered the bonds of loyalty and betrayed those who I should have protected." He admitted the words openly, his eyes remaining fixed on Belar's hatred filled face. "I swear myself to Kenta Murata. With my life, my soul and my body, I protect him, the one I love with the entirety of my being." He would not hide how he felt, nor to whom his loyalties rested.

He stood defiant.

"You're both dead!" Belar bellowed back, his entire face livid with his boiling over rage. There was death in his eyes, a cold ruthlessness that promised that he would see them dead. No matter if they escaped him here, they would know his wrath and regret their defiance. He would not rest until they suffered for the humiliation they had heaped already upon him this day and in the ways since that confrontation in his own Capital.

A wall of soldier poured past the ranks of archers, their battle cries echoing across the vast forested slopes. A hundred swords and spears glinted in the afternoon light, each promising the death their King had commanded from them. They were a sea of brown and grey, a writhing, living mass that flooded forwards across the bright green of the summer grasses.

A strange whistling sound suddenly rose above the din of the approaching soldiers' voices, one that made Yozak glance upwards as his sword lifted in order to protect his beloved, only to watch massive boulders suddenly smash into the air as if dropping from the very heavens. Dust, debris and bodies launched outwards from each fresh impact of a massive stone the size of a large horse. Terrified screams and shouts of pain replaced the roar of battle.

An unearthly roar suddenly filled the chaotic cacophony of other mingled sounds. Fire spewed forth from open jaws as a full sized dragon burst from the forest and incinerated Belar's carriage. The horses hitched to the smoking ruins of that massive contraption bolted, shrieking in terror as the flaming ruins followed behind them. The team of mounts broke through the enemies already scattered lines, sending people running in all directions just to escape them and their blazing cargo.

"What…? What's going on?!" The King twisted around just as the massive beast moved straight for him, powerful, flaming body lunging for him, stopped only by the quick barrier of cavalry that placed itself between the Maou's Dragon and King Belar. "WHAT IS THIS?!" His eyes stared up incredulously to the man perched upon the beast's back, before spinning in order to stare at the young man behind Yozak, knowing in that moment he had been truly duped.

"YOU!" He snarled at Yuuri, his face turning almost purple, the man looking quite ready to literally explode from the furious pressure building up inside of him.

"_Me_." Yuuri replied simply, his expression cold and focused, his jaw clenched as he confronted the monster that had ruined so many lives with his greed and callousness.

It oozed from the human's very pores, the writhing, swirling blackness that had invaded and swallowed the entirety of his soul. There was nothing left of Belar, nothing but the greed, rage and arrogance that seemed the most base parts of the man's personality. It was a terrifying thing to see, knowing just how much power this man had at his fingertips. This man was merely a shell which the beastly shadow creatures had hollowed out from this man's heart.

It struck Yuuri at that moment what could happen to a person if they were claimed by the shadows and the evil that dwelt within the Forbidden Boxes. _Was this what had happened to the Great One?_ He truly had no answers, only speculation and the facts as he knew them. _Was there still something left of the Great One or was he a shell that was filled by a blackness that had infiltrated his soul one day at a time?_ Yuuri Shibuya-Weller was struck by a strange spark of unexpected pity for Belar, knowing that this man might never be able to escape the blackness that had swallowed him whole.

"Surrender!" Yuuri demanded of the sneering man, magical energy crackling around him as the dragon lowered its head, lips peeling away from razor sharp fangs that could slice this man in easily in two. "This is your last warning."

"Never," Belar hissed in response, eyes flashing with manic fire.

Suddenly the entire battlefield went silent beneath clouds of smoke and dust that continued to rise from where the boulders had slammed deeply into the earth. The Big Cimaron soldiers in disarray, yet in a single moment, all of their heads were turned in the direction from which the projectiles had been flung and stared in open-mouthed horror.

All around them, the previously quiet landscape filled with activity. On the high ground behind them, bright flags rippled in the afternoon sunshine, ringing part of the horizon as ranks of soldiers and cavalrymen advanced into view. Abruptly a roar of pure sound rose up from those inbound soldiers, a challenge been issued to those that had thought to capture the Demon King and murder his companions. It was such an amazing sight!

"The combined forces of the Great Demon Kingdom and Cavalcade?!" Belar stared incredulously at the troops that had attacked his own forces, every single inch of his body trembling with barely leashed rage. His eyes suddenly narrowed as they turned on the Maou, staring at him with accusation and a spark of fear, aware that he had fallen right into an ambush.

* * *

><p>At the head of Great Demon Kingdom's forces, Lord Gwendal Von Voltaire cut a startlingly dangerous and dashing image upon his dark stallion, his deep blue eyes gazing down upon the scattered forces of King Belar. Every inch of his face was cut into harsh lines, knowing just how close they had come to not reaching the ambush position ahead of time. The high mountains and steep, dangerous terrain had almost blindsided them. Yet, like most of the Maou's other plans, this one had pulled itself together just when they required it to.<p>

For a moment, he glanced back slightly to pick out one face from amongst those that had accompanied him at the head of the combined Great Demon Kingdom and Cavalcade forces, focusing on the scratched and bruised face of Gunter Von Christ. When the man had suddenly appeared out of the forest and met their forces on their way through Cavalcade, Gwendal had been startled, and for several moments hadn't recognised his long-time friend. The two combined armies had moved towards the general location the Sage had indicated this ambush might take place in, which had arrived by messenger pigeon as they had finished imprisoning the last of the captured Big Cimaron forces. There had been something changed within the man; an indefinable switch that had been flicked and… instead of the simpering Royal Aide he had expected to see… clear, focused violet eyes had gazed back at him with unswerving determination.

Something warm settled inside of his stomach to know Gunter was safe, though the story of the man's rescue was something he was quite interested in hearing when they had time to spare to discuss such matters. It had been Gunter who had led them back through the wild terrain with unerring accuracy and assisted with the deployment of the catapults, making use of the decades of tactical training he'd received as a trainer at their own Military Academy. The man's assistance truly had been invaluable.

"**KING BELAR! You don't stand a chance! SURRENDER NOW!"** His voice carried across the landscape, his entire body charged with the energy burning inside of him to finally bring this monster to heel and prevent him from slipping through their fingers and creating another wave of devastation.

Heathcrife drew his horse up beside Gwendal's own, gazing down across the territories that were firmly within his Father's domain. His jaw clenched to know that Belar had actually used one of Cavalcade's ports in order to bring troops into the lands of one of their Allies. Their reaction had been firm and immediate, they would not be tolerating any signs of aggression from Big Cimaron, especially not with so many now standing with them in this struggle against one of the most vicious Super Powers of their world. They were drawing a line in the sand, one they would not allow this enemy to cross. With the assistance of the Great Demon Kingdom's navy, the Big Cimaron ships had already been imprisoned inside of the harbour. If Belar did escape them here, he would find it far more difficult to find anyone willing to assist him to evade capture.

"**Surrender!"**

Gwendal would not allow this army to withdraw, especially with the sheer numbers that were spread out before them on the open meadow. There was too many soldiers that might run amok and if they were forced into retreat they could devastate the countryside as they attempted to look for places to hide, using brutality to slip out from the net that was slowly tightening around them. No more civilian deaths would be tolerated!

* * *

><p>Lyla turned at the sound of familiar drums, her entire face lighting up as bright blue flags crested the hill to their left. Fluttering brightly, the bright wheat stalks emblazoned upon a blue that looked plucked from the very heavens, brought a glint of pride to her eyes. "They're not the only ones here! Look!" Lyla's features abruptly softened at the sight of just who was leading this newest army towards them. "It's Fransia's Army!"<p>

Her heart beat wildly within her chest as she realised warm brown eyes had first sought her out, a brief flash of relief blooming across Antoine's face for a moment, before he straightened regally on the back of his horse. Griesela was riding protectively beside the man as they advanced, and the Fransian Army joined with its allies in challenging the forces of Big Cimaron, moving in conjunction with the forces led by Gwendal and Heathcrife.

"Antoine..." Her King's name was a heart-felt whisper from Lyla's soul, her face brightened by the obvious love she had for her King and the fact that he had came here, despite his usual fears about such situations and his inexperience in battle.

Antoine's eyes reluctantly pulled themselves from Lyla's form, reassured that she was indeed safe, though at least half a dozen arrows that she had deflected with her blade surrounded her. His jaw tightened in outrage; for those that claimed no harm would come to his people as long as he complied with their 'orders' had treated the woman he cared about like this.

"King Belar! Fransia severs its ties with Big Cimaron as of this day!" Antoine's voice rose above the roar of their allies' soldiers, his shoulders straightening as he gripped the reins of his horse fiercely between his fingers. "I have decided that we're now allies of the Great Demon Kingdom! Now take your soldiers and leave my Kingdom at once!"

Every part of Yozak's body trembled as he gazed upon the forces that challenged the might that had once been Big Cimaron, his eyes taking in the majesty of this scene being played out against the deep vivid green of this beautiful landscape. The voices of the unbroken armies were raised to the very heavens, echoing up the mountainsides, amplified and vibrating with each soldier's loyalty and dedication to driving back the darkness that threatened to tear apart everything they would die to protect.

He remembered a moment like this, one which had played out twenty years before in much harsher surroundings. He had stood with soldiers like himself, people struggling to find their place in the world, to prove that they would die loyally for what they believed in, for not only the Maou but for all those that would come after them. All those children born of both Demon Tribe and Human parents… he had looked into the eyes of death and had accepted his willingness to embrace it, however, he had not been willing to give it up without a vicious and bloody fight.

A slender frame was suddenly sliding beneath his arm, gripping his failing body and even as Yozak's fingers barely held onto the sword he had used to protect them, he refused to let it go. His head drooped, his breath a bloody wheeze that rattled up from deep inside of him. His blood soaked into his beloved's clothes, staining it crimson.

"Guri…" It was a terrified whisper of his name, chocolate brown eyes staring up into his face. Ken cared about nothing else but the one he loved, his heart beating so hard within his chest, he worried it would burst right out of him. "Love…!"

"This is reparation…" He offered his beloved a half smile, blue eyes misting a little, vision blurring wildly. The sword slipped from his fingers, while his hand lifted to brush calloused fingertips against one cheek. "For all I have done…"

"_Love_."

"I have done so much… evil…" His face flashed with heartache, knowing he might not even gain the chance to truly make reparations to all those he had hurt with his actions. "Hurt so many…."

Suddenly Gurrier's legs buckled completely under him, his entire weight abruptly settling upon his beloved's shoulders and he almost dragged him downwards towards the ground. A strong, masculine body suddenly pressed up against his other side, his arm being tugged over powerful shoulders, buoying him up, keeping him on his feet. A whisper of wind lightly brushed across his entire body, ruffling his hair and clothes.

Blue eyes tipped upwards to regard his rescuer, gazing from beneath sweat-dampened amber strands and he froze the moment he realised who it was that now supported him. Conrart Weller stood beside him, sword ready to defend both himself and Ken. Shock flooded every inch of Yozak's body and soul as his Captain and long-time friend protected him even after all he had done.

"You..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Con...rart...?"

"Don't you think of dying on me," Conrart responded, deflecting several new arrows that fired in their direction. "We didn't live through hell together for you to die in a place like this."

Belar's eyes were back on them the moment he realised just who it was that had come from the forest in Gurrier Yozak's defence, his entire face suddenly lighting up with renewed vigour. The King delighted that he could unexpectedly use his trump card.

"The Forbidden Box!" The Cimaron King bellowed at the troops nearest him, his entire body suddenly in motion, ignoring the threat of the Dragon and the armies that were about to cut off any means of his escape. "Bring out the Box!" An imperious finger pointed straight at Conrart Weller, who was currently dressed in the uniform of one of the Big Cimaron soldiers, showing just how he had slipped through the chaos of the enemy lines in order to reach Yozak and Kenta.

Adalbert Von Grantz was moving slowly into position, his eyes fixed on Belar, each step calculated to bring him closer and closer to the King as Yuuri acted as a distraction.

"Cut off Lord Weller's arm and show them the Box's power! YOU HEARD MY ORDERS!" The man bellowed, his face flushing feverish as his personal reality began to twist with greed, the man unbelievably thinking that it was still possible for him to escape. _**"QUICKLY!"**_

"Bring out the Box!" One of the Commander's voices rang out; rallying those close to the King as they frantically began to react to the commands they issued. "Hurry!"

Every inch of Yozak's face paled abruptly at the familiar shape of the Box. He knew it went practically everywhere with the Big Cimaron King, and as it was revealed from amongst the wagons that had only been scorched lightly by the dragon's breath. "That's..." His body stiffened, horror edging through his veins as every eye turned again towards the man beside him.

"The fake version of the 'End of The Wind'," Kenta whispered reassuringly. "It was swapped during the sword fights in the Coliseum while Belar was distracted by Yuuri's presence."

"He still has... the other one..." His eyes flickered towards the Box he had personally delivered to Belar.

"Also a fake," Conrart smirked ever so slightly, the corners of his lips curling upwards. "We weren't about to let Belar anywhere near a Forbidden Box."

It was in that moment that one of Belar's men removed the lid on the_ End of the Wind_ and from within its depths a sage-in-a-box sprang forth with a loud explosion. Every single soldier that had been standing around it leapt back in horror as the Box suddenly cracked apart, splitting at the seams, turning into a pile of useless wooden boards, right at Belar's feet.

The human King's face turned from a slight pink to a shade somewhere near purple, an inhuman sound of manic horror escaping from between his lips as he stared at what had once been one of his most formidable weapons. A weapon which had turned out to be nothing more than a prankster's joke.

"Call an immediate retreat!" The words were literally torn from within Belar's soul, his world beginning to truly crumble before him, all of the power and the strength he thought he had gained with two Boxes in his possession eroding away to leave nothing, but a bitter taste clinging to the inside of his mouth. He desperately turned towards the sight of the other Box still resting untouched amongst his soldiers. "Bring the other Box at any cost!** I ORDER YOU!**"

However, before anyone could make another move, the second wave of the assault suddenly swept down over the Big Cimaron forces, the first few boulders aimed rather squarely for Belar, driving him back away from the intact Box, his last remaining prize. His eyes grew large in his ruddy face, when the swirling form of the Dragon and the Maou suddenly appeared on the other side of the rising swirls of dust, the creature's head lowering and a rush of flames spilled from between its open jaws engulfing the entire Box in a wall of fire.

There was a moment when the Box outlined against the roiling waves of the bright red and white of the blaze, before it disintegrated like Belar's dreams of world conquest.

"What... have you done...?" Belar croaked out, staring in horror at what the Maou had done to ensure their victory over him. "What have you _**done?!**_"

Yuuri only smiled back in response to Belar's demands for an answer.

From deep within the earth, bubbling springs of water suddenly began to filter upwards, channelled upwards between massive slabs of rock only a foot beneath the shallow mountain soil by the raw power the Maou possessed. The moment the first formed, a water serpent launched itself at the nearest cluster of Big Cimaron's soldiers, driving them to the earth with the force of its assault.

_**"RETREAT!"**_ Belar howled, knowing truly that all was lost.

There was a sudden tide of soldiers that literally turned tail like frightened rabbits before the might of so many, and just before Adalbert could lunge forwards at Belar with his sword raised above his head, his free hand outstretched to capture the man, he was snatched away by one of the few who had managed to remain on horseback. In a tide of brown and grey clad bodies, the human King virtually disappeared in a matter of moments as they plunged into the trees. Yuuri was ready to run the man down and bring justice to all those that had found none at this tyrannous human's hands. Adalbert Von Grantz was already in pursuit, joined by many from the combined armies that streamed down the slopes after the retreating army which vanished into the wooded forests.

**"YUURI!" **Conrart's desperate plea rose above the wild din, carried on the wind to the Maou's ears and the dragon suddenly pulled up short in response to his beloved's cry of his name. The single word conveying a wealth of emotions.

Yuuri's eyes turned towards where his beloved Prince Consort was holding the bloody body of Yozak, his beloved's face blanched white with terror in that moment with the knowledge that without Yuuri's healing ability, they might just lose this man. There was no choice, nor hesitation on Yuuri's part. The Maou's head didn't even turn back towards the way Belar had retreated, though he knew if he pursued the man now, he might just capture him before he again slipped out of their reach.

He could feel the wrenching pain through their soul deep bond, the ripple of anguish scorching through Conrart. Though he knew the cost of his decision, he would entrust the task of Belar's capture to his Captain of the Guard. There was relief in knowing that if Adalbert could not bring back Belar, then no one else could. The man had a reputation for being ruthless when it was called for and Yuuri could count on his tenacity. The choice was already made as his companion spread massive wings and they plunged forwards towards the dying Yozak, hoping it was not too late to save this man who had already been through hell... _twice..._

* * *

><p>Blue eyes gazed up into the vastness of the vivid azure sky that stretched out overhead, the scent of fresh grass and pine filling each lungful of air he managed to drag into his mortally wounded body. Warmth curled around his fingers, teardrops stinging his skin, as Kenta held his hand against trembling lips. He could feel the slide of magical energy into his body, the trickle of heat that tingled through his nerves and every part of his body as it had since the arrows had wounded him. Yozak was aware that without his beloved's strength he would already be dead.<p>

Familiar hands lightly rested on his shoulders, brushing against his trembling muscles. His gaze fought to focus on the face above him, feeling everything inside of his soul tremble at the look of despair and devastation that flickered across Conrart's face. So many emotions were etched into those proud features and Yozak's heart throbbed bitterly to know he might just cause more hurt to one of those he cared about.

_He did not want to leave... He did not want to die here... Yet, wasn't it what he truly deserved for all he had done? _

Something tingled across his breastbone, a ripple of something unimaginably powerful. For a moment, he thought it might be the Great One... he could still remember the wash of that power sliding over every part of his body and soul in those moments when he and Conrart had been carried away from the Great Demon Kingdom. This, however, this was different...

"...Julia...?" Confused the name slipped from between Yozak's parched lips as he recognised this power from the one time in the past that he had known that woman's touch.

"Not quite, Yozak." A masculine voice responded to his question, quiet and worried. "I'm not Julia."

"Love...?" Conrart's tone cracked like shattered glass within his throat. "Please..."

"He's... lost a lot of blood and the internal damage is extensive." Yuuri's taut and stoic tone was marked with worry and concern that even his powers might not be enough to save the life of this man. "It's amazing that he's still alive..." Obsidian eyes gazed towards the ashen Murata, staring into his friend's face and seeing just how much energy the man had already expended keeping his beloved alive. Yozak had been willing to give up his life in order to protect Murata and it truly spoke of just how dedicated and loyal this man was to the one he loved.

"Don't you dare stop fighting," Conrart hissed out at Yozak, every part of his body shaking with the force of all the emotions that burned inside of him. "You are coming home with us."

"Home," Yuuri confirmed, with a smile touching his lips. "It's time to come back to the Great Demon Kingdom, Gurrier Yozak. Your task is over."

Hope filled Gurrier at that single word, knowing now what it truly meant. A place where he could be with those he cared for... where he could openly love the one who had so stolen his heart and soul from within his very body. "Ken...ta..."

"Don't leave me..." The words whispered into his ear, hot tears trickling against his cheekbone as soft lips touched his own blood-spattered ones. "We... can finally be together now... _Please_..." Sweet lips caressed a kiss against Yozak's, Kenta leaning over him, his body collapsing against the coolness of his lover's larger one. His free hand cupped the back of his beloved's head, sliding into amber locks and keeping them close. _"I love you, Gurrier."_

He wanted to answer, but all the strength had fled from his body, even with what the Maou was doing to save his life would allow him to respond to the words he had dreamed of hearing since his mother had died and he had been left alone. Yozak's lips however did move to form those words in response to his beloved.

Everything blurred one last time, the last image that he saw clearly was that of his Kenta's face. Slowly a single burning tear tracked down the length of his cheekbone, when Yozak realised this might be the final time he saw the precious face of the one he truly, honestly loved. The mere thought terrified him, but he refused to accept it, even as the coldness seeped into his limbs, his heart quivering inside of his chest, fighting to keep on beating even though he had lost so much blood. Every breath sent jagged bursts of pain through him, yet all the physical suffering was nothing compared to the thought of being without Kenta.

He fought against the wash of darkness, which nibbled away at the edges of his world, reducing it drastically between sluggish heartbeats. Until all he knew was one single fact.

_I love you..._

The words whispered through his heart and out into every part of his soul, spreading through him... gentle and soft... a blanket cocooning him.

_I love you... always... _

A scream of his name echoed from somewhere distantly and in the darkness that closed around him.

_I want... to go home... Love... with you... _

A faint light shimmered in that blackness, a single star that called to him. He reached for it... his fingers stretching... just as the blackness sucked him under.

_Kenta!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>DUN DUN DUNNNNNN! <em>**

**I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter! **

**Aoz**


	41. Part 41: Values

**Author's Note: I'm not dead! YAAY! LOL okay, sorry for the long delay. I hope you enjoy this finishing part of this particular arc of the story. My beta has done a brilliant job as always! Hehe. I just want to say that for the second season of the Anime I won't be able to do all the stories in it, some no longer work with this particular plot or might detract from it. So what I intend on doing is writing particular episodes, I will outline a list at the bottom of this chapter. The episodes in between will either be combined as I'm planning on doing for the next one or skipped. **

**Oh! Quick questions to everyone! What would you like Raven and Cecilie's baby to be? Boy or girl? Any name suggestions? Also should I plan to 'redeem' Wolfram and Shori? If so... should I plan to put them together with someone? Suggestions welcome! **

* * *

><p><strong>Dungeon, Paname Castle, Fransia<strong>

Tiny flickers of warmth drifted over his face, blinding him for a moment as he turned, a soft groan sliding from deep within his throat as he attempted to roll over and he hissed out a breath of pain. Lashes slowly flickered, blue eyes struggling to focus in the dimness, becoming very quickly aware of the fact that he was no longer outside, but in a dry, quiet cell.

Every part of Gurrier Yozak's body throbbed. It felt as if someone had taken him apart piece by piece and then forcefully glued every inch of him back together again. One hand twitched slightly against the sheets, fingers curling and uncurling, before he managed to lift it enough to block out the bright spots of light that spilled over him from the tiny slitted windows overhead. The other hand however, refused to answer his command to move, an indefinable weight holding it down. Something incredibly warm shifted beside him then, an exhausted little groan rising into the stillness that made the half-breed freeze in place.

"You shouldn't be moving yet..." A sleepy rasp sounded muffled against his other shoulder.

Yozak realised then that it was the weight resting across his other arm that had prevented its motion. The faint scent of his lover rose to his nose as he managed to tip his head to the side and gaze down upon the dark head of Kenta tucked against him on the narrow prison bed, the two of them just fitting. Relief flashed through him, but also a bubble of confusion, his last memories being of...

"I'm not dead."

A strained laugh escaped Kenta as he tipped his head back to gaze into a pair of bright blue eyes, feeling his heart clench inside of his chest to be able to see them again, to see the bright spark of life in their depths. "No... No, you're not."

"Kenta... I..."

"Don't you ever do that again!" The words flew out of Murata's mouth, his chocolate eyes shimmering with unshed tears behind his glasses. His throat closing up as he gazed into that handsome face, remembering the terror that had coursed through his veins... and still remained lodged inside of his heart. "Do you have _**any**_ idea...?!"

With a hiss of discomfort, he managed to roll himself just enough to be able to fling his good arm over his lover's body and pull him closer, even though his wounded shoulder was compressed beneath his weight. His mouth found Kenta's, kissing the man with all the pent up emotions that boiled up inside of him. The love he felt for this man overwhelmed him with its intensity, that Kenta was here... spoke volumes to him.

Panting for air when they both finally pulled an inch a part in order to drag much needed oxygen into their lungs, Ken Murata stared up at the man who had won his heart. "Don't think that will get you off the hook."

"Would a hundred?" Gurrier questioned, unable to understand why a bubble of giddiness was spreading through him, an impossible kind of happiness that not even his dungeon surroundings could quite smother.

"What?" Dark brows pressed together at the question.

"Would a hundred kisses get me off the hook?"

Kenta stifled a strangled laugh, just holding the man that little bit tighter, knowing just how close he had come to losing him and any hope of true happiness. "I almost lost you." Pain filled those four simple words; ones that conveyed to the wounded man just how much losing him would have cost those that loved him.

The attempt at humour died at the sound of such anguish in the words of the man he loved most. His heart thundering inside of his chest in response to his beloved's pain, he tugged Kenta closer against him, despite the spark spike of discomfort it sent through his still healing wounds. "There are no words that I can say... that can tell you just how sorry I am for hurting you like that..." His fingertips brushed over that tear-streaked face, using the edge of his sleeve to dab at the long streaks of those heart-wrenching tears.

Kenta shattered into a thousand pieces, his entire body wracked by silent sobs while he just held onto the man he loved, some part of him still so very afraid of what was yet to come for the two of them. However, he knew he couldn't give this man up, couldn't let him go and he refused to even consider it for even a moment. His face pressed harder into one broad shoulder, his quiet wretched gasps turned into cries of despair and hope and terror and joy. Everything within him was a wild mass of seething emotion, Murata's entire body shaking so hard his teeth actually chattered. The shock of it all was truly sinking in, his fingers fisting into his lover's clothes, inching in until they were coiled together.

Gurrier wrapped his arms around the shivering form of the one who had won his heart, his soul ripped apart to see such pain and emotion etched across those beloved features. He didn't even realise that there in the shadows of the cell, his voice was mingling with the sounds of his lover's terror and relief, the words... _'I'm sorry' _whispered repeatedly into the gloom. However, he knew it would be a long time before he forgot the look on his beloved's face, knowing that their love was not something he would ever question.

His hand cradled the back of his beloved's head, lacing his fingers into the inky black strands and cradling it just there, stroking his fingertips against his lover's scalp. "I love you." He whispered, knowing it would be a very long time before either of them would ever be able to forget what had happened out there amongst the mountains of Fransia. He could still remember his own anguish over his mother's death, the inconsolable agony he had felt that she had been taken from him and he had been left alone.

Gurrier Yozak promised himself from that moment on that his beloved would never feel as he had felt that day so long ago. He would never leave his beloved behind, they would always be together, no matter if he had to face the wrath of the Great One, he would willingly confront the Originators to prevent them ever being separated again.

"I love you."

* * *

><p><strong>Big Cimaron<strong>

_The boy jerked awake with a cry, the sound of his mother's name on his lips. A wild shiver fluttered up and down the length of his body, every inch of him trembling with the fierceness of his emotions. Both of his hands covered his mouth, desperate to stop another sound from escaping him, as he rolled onto his side and curled up on himself. The prick of unshed tears burned the back of his eyes, while he struggled to swallow down the noise that had lodged in his throat. _

_The dream haunted him. It was an impossible thing, yet, it still terrified him in a way nothing else truly had before. He had watched his mother turn away from him, Conrart had seen in her eyes what he had seen in so many others when they looked at him... disdain and disgust, as if he were less of a person than they were. However, he knew it was nothing but a dream, a nightmare sent to torment him. In his heart, he knew his mother would never hate him, but... it was still a fear that lurked within him, haunting him. _

_Huddled there beneath the blankets, Conrart wondered if... if anyone would be able to love him. Could someone love a person like him?_

_"What's wrong, son?" The deep, gentle voice of Dunheely Weller sounded from just outside of the tent flap, concern etched into his words. _

_Conrart was drawn to the comforting sound of his human father's voice, coaxed from beneath the blankets. He crawled slowly towards the flap, stretching out one hand to push it aside, gazing out at the broad, muscular back of his father where he sat before the banked fire. Inching his way forwards, he hesitated to step outside, uncertain if he should share his thoughts with his father, if... _

_"I heard you call out your mother's name in your sleep." Cinnamon brown eyes the exact same shade as his son's slowly turned around to regard the young half-blood child who had been tossing and turning for the last hour. His expression softened as he gazed upon his son, feeling his heart clench at the look in Conrart's eyes. _

_Creeping across the space between them, Conrart crouched down beside his father, his arms wrapped around his knees as his head tipped back in order to gaze into his eyes for a moment before losing his nerve. His attention turned to the bright, leaping flames that danced before him. His heart was still racing within his chest, beating so fast he wondered if it would beat its way right out of his body. "I'd... like to know, Father, if you've ever called out my mother's name?" _

_Could he still love? Was it possible to love... even when the one you love was so far away? Did his father still love his mother, even though he had left her? Could... one still love... even when others looked upon you with such disgust? _

_Emotions darted across the man's shadowed face, his long chestnut locks falling across his eyes as not only a lifetime of guilt and regret passed through them, but also the hopelessly strong love that still beat within his chest. With every breath, he thought of her and wished... he could have had the years... the centuries... to be able to love her the way he wished to. Yet, he didn't. He had known his time with her was at an end the night he'd left, slipping away into the darkness... leaving only a note behind. He had been torn... so torn... by so many desires... and the knowledge that he did not wish for her to watch him grow old... to wither away... while she could do nothing to prevent it._

_"I know deep in my heart... you still love her." Conrart whispered, seeking to know a little of his own future within his father's words. "Don't you, Father, even though... you don't say it." _

_"I love her name..." Dunheely said gently to his son, his gaze finding its way to his son's face, seeing so much of himself in those wide, troubled brown eyes. "I love the name Cecilie..."_

_Reaching out with one hand, the swordsman tenderly brushed his hand over his son's head, feeling the silky strands play through his fingers. However, it was not enough in the face of his son's distress. His hands caught his son beneath the arms and lifted him, drawing the startled child into his lap, the edges of his cloak being wrapped around that small, still shaking form, cradling him close and pressing a soft kiss against the top of that beloved head. _

_"When you love someone... like I love your mother... nothing anyone else thinks truly matters. One day... you'll find someone... someone that loves you for who you are. When you find them... don't let them go, son, don't ever let go... the way I did. Hold on tight... hold on right to the end, for every minute... every second..." _

_Conrart pressed his face into the heat and solidity of his father's chest. As that strong heart beat beneath his ear, he became aware for the first time of his father's mortality. That with each beat of that strong heart; his father was slipping away from him too. A human life was such a short thing, so fragile. He could hear it in his father's voice if he listened hard, the difference between his Demon Tribe Mother... and his human father. There was something... __**something**__... and he finally understood a little of the reason behind his father leaving his mother's side... and the regret this man felt for doing so. Had his father's leaving been done to spare his mother the pain of watching him slowly fade away?_

_"I will... always love her." His eyes lifted to the stars overhead, knowing somewhere else in the world the one he loved might be looking at the exact same stars._

* * *

><p><strong>Paname Castle, Fransia<strong>

A hand stroked against Conrart's shoulder, rubbing at it tenderly, before warm lips touched against the back of his neck, beneath the fall of long wild strands.

Conrart jerked back to wakefulness, the memory of his father slipping away as the world around him replaced the heat of his father's arms with the tender touch of a lover's hands. Silver eyes blinked open, his large hand reaching up to curl around the one that rested against his arm, gently tugging it around his waist. His husband's form inched closer until it was pressed up along the entire length of his body, strong arms coiled around his waist, warm breath teasing across his nape and shoulder.

"You... called out for your father." Yuuri lovingly pressed another kiss against that broad back, rubbing his lightly stubbled cheek against the smooth hairless skin. "Are you alright, Love?" Lacing his fingers through Conrart's, he squeezed them in reassurance, wondering what it was that was troubling his heart. Nightmares were common enough for both of them, but this was the first time Conrart had called out for his father.

"Yes..." Conrart's mouth was unbearably dry and he struggled to form words as his lips clung together, his heart was still racing within his chest, a wild beat that was slow to calm.

"You were never a good liar." _Well at least not to him._ Yuuri flung a leg over his lover's thighs, pressing himself even closer against his lover's bare skin, squeezing those strong fingers again.

"I was just dreaming about the time when..." He swallowed hard at the flickers of memory that danced around still within his thoughts. "When I realised... just how short my father's life actually was... that when I looked at him... I could see the regret in his eyes for things... he had done, the choices he made." There were so many questions still left unanswered inside of his soul, things about his father he wished to understand. Yet, he never would because he wasn't human, or at least not completely. He was... Demon Tribe, his humanity having slipped just a little more away from him each time he used the gift granted to him. The slightest breeze danced across the sheets spread out over them, half tangled around their bodies.

What he was... he was no longer sure.

"Mortality," Yuuri whispered the word. "It's a concept that... never really meant much to mean until I came here." His free hand pressed against his lover's chest began stroking lightly against his lover's scars, tracing each familiar mark lightly with his fingertips. "For so long... I thought I was human... and even when I learned I was Demon Tribe it never struck me that when I came here my lifespan would be... _extended_..."

"Will... you tell me what it is like to be... human?"

Yuuri blinked at the question, actually considering it and wondering how to answer something so profound when a knock came at the door.

Conrart shifted on the mattress, about to rouse himself in order to answer the door when Yuuri was the one to sit up first, and promptly flopped right back down onto the mattress with a groan. The swordsman turned to gaze down at Yuuri where he lay sprawled back against the mattress, limbs flopped about him, exhaustion still written across that precious face. A hand stretched out to brush a fingertip against the dark rings that encircled those even darker eyes.

"Stay put." He breathed, leaning down to press a loving kiss against that protesting mouth, silencing the words before they could escape. "You have already done more than enough, my Little Dragon. Let me be the one to see to this."

The night before had been one that had sapped the strength out of both of them, leaving them both drained. Yuuri had saved Yozak's life, but it had cost him dearly. The fact he had almost lost his friend had struck home just how fragile even their lives could be... and was more than likely the reason he had dreamed about his father. Even after all that had happened between them, he still cared about Yozak; the man was like a brother to him.

"I hate it when you look so lost." One scarred hand lifted to cup Conrart's cheek, Yuuri's thumb sliding against the man's lower lip, caressing it lovingly. "I love you, Conrart Weller."

"And I, you." Conrart's hand covered that one, cradling his husband's hand against his skin, feeling the ache inside of him ease a little just feeling the softness of that touch against his flesh. Pressing his face into it, he let his lips touch against the throbbing pulse in that slender wrist, reassured by the tiny flutter against his mouth.

Another knock sounded, drawing the two lovers apart.

Managing to find pants on his way to the door, he hauled them up over his hips, buttoning them into place and thrusting his hand back through his hair in order to brush it out of his face. His ring caught slightly amongst the strands, forcing him to stop and free it before answering the door.

"Gwendal," Conrart greeted, leaning against the doorframe and using his body to prevent anyone from gazing in at the exhausted form of the Maou sprawled naked across the bed they shared, covered only by a thin sheet. However, his expression immediately softened at the sight of just how worn his brother looked, the tightness around his mouth showing that the news his brother had for them was not something either of them would want to hear.

"Lord Von Grantz returned a few minutes ago."

Conrart's head drooped a little, his clenched fist slamming against the wood of the doorframe, his teeth grinding together in frustration to know that yet again the man had slipped out from between their fingers. However, there was no one to blame for this. Knowing Adalbert, the man would have stopped at nothing to capture Belar, that he failed said that Belar had had a plan in place just in case something like this actually did happen. The man was a _snake_. This failure had also struck his brother hard as well.

"No one is to blame for this." The Consort spoke up, eyes meeting his brother's squarely. His hand reached out to squeeze his brother's shoulder, feeling the knots of tension and strain vibrating through the thick muscles. "No one."

Gwendal's molars ground together; still not able to accept the failure they were all facing.

"Do not forget the victory we have won... though we might not have captured the King, we have captured a number of his pawns, spoiled his plans and brought home a lost friend." Yuuri was struggling to stay on his feet, swaying a little as he stood just behind Conrart's shoulder, his body wrapped up in the length of the sheet, having not had the strength to get his own pants on.

Conrart darted forwards the moment he saw Yuuri stagger, lifting him sheet and all into his arms. Cradling that trembling weight against him protectively, his silvered eyes lifted to his brother's face. His lips pressed together in a thin line, indicating that Yuuri was not ready to deal with anything other than recovering from the weakness he was experiencing after the healing he had done the day before and through most of the night.

"Yozak has regained consciousness. However, he will remain under guard, until a decision is made what to do with him." Gwendal Von Voltaire was not about to trust Yozak, it would take a long time before he even considered placing his trust in that man after what he had done to his little brother and the Maou. In the end, the choice of Yozak's punishment would fall to the Maou to decide. It was also better for Yozak to remain under guard considering every resident of this castle knew he had originally come in service to Big Cimaron, rather than as a member of the Maou's party. "Also King Antoine has expressed a desire to enter into a treaty with the Great Demon Kingdom and its Alliance."

"Good news..." Yuuri sighed, a small smile touching the corners of his mouth, his head dropping to rest against his lover's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Sire, let me attend to the arrangements."

"Thank you, Gwendal." Conrart offered his brother a grateful glance, wanting to know more on how Yozak was doing, though his concern definitely rested here with his exhausted love. His silver eyes glanced up at his brother's face, lingering there for just a moment. "You should get some sleep. I doubt any of us are going anywhere for a while."

Gwendal's shoulders slumped, his fingers rubbed lightly against the bridge of his nose. "You are right." He admitted quietly. "I just cannot help but..." Fingers clenched into a fist, the frustration flashing across Gwendal's handsome face, his lips pressing together, refusing to speak the words, but knowing his brother understood.

"No one is to blame." Conrart repeated firmly.

Gwendal ground out. "One can only hope that's the truth, Brother."

* * *

><p>Clenched fists slammed into the table, making the fine china teacup before him jump on its saucer and rattle dangerously. A sound of pure frustration escaped the Demon Tribesman's throat, as powerful muscles tensed and rippled beneath tawny skin, the strain of failure written in every line of the man's body.<p>

Cool hands caught at Adalbert's fists, cradling them lovingly and settling them on the tabletop before they ended up breaking the delicate wood furniture in their chambers. Warm lips pressed against the pounding pulse within the man's throat, a feminine body curling up against his back, silky locks flopped over his shoulder and teased lightly at his skin. The gentle mouth continued upwards until it found the corner of Adalbert's lips, the man turning into the contact and returning it whole-heartedly.

The stress slowly leached out of him as Gisela's soothing hands worked their magic on him. Within a few minutes, he was a slumped form in the chair, which was a touch too small for his bulky frame. She truly was unique. There something definitely to be said about having a fiancé who was skilled in the art of healing.

"I know you." Gisela whispered tenderly into his ear, "You would have stopped at nothing to bring him back for the King."

"I'm not used to failure," He rumbled, "On such an epic scale."

Strong arms coiled around her waist, drawing her into his lap and he took advantage of her new position by claiming every inch of that sweet mouth, needing the solace she brought to him. Adalbert longed for the day that they would return to the Great Demon Kingdom and he would be able to marry the one he loved. She deserved to have that, deserved to have far more than a cynical, crabby and short-tempered man like him as a husband. Yet, Gisela Von Christ had seen something in him worthy of notice... worthy of her love and he treasured that more than he could ever say.

"What did I ever do to deserve someone as wonderful as you?" His cheek dropped against her shoulder, his face nuzzled up against the side of her throat, his arms embracing her lovingly, stroking his fingers up and down the length of that slender, but limber back. Soft butterfly kisses pressed to the heat of her throat and he trailed them along the line of that fluttering pulse, as his fingertips tangled themselves into the end of her braid, tugging on it affectionately.

"I honestly don't know." She teased him, green eyes closing as her head tipped back, offering him full access to her neck, a little erotic moan tugged from the back of her throat, her hips unconsciously squirming over her lover's lap. The tiny wiggle earned her a low, masculine hiss of appreciation. "Maybe I was just in it for the _perks_."

"_**Minx**_," He growled in response, giving her earlobe a sharp little nip. Adalbert almost wanted to laugh or maybe sob... his emotions mingled and smashed together inside of him. Gisela could turn him upside down and inside out so easily. Tucking his face more firmly against her , he couldn't find any more words, for all of them seemed inadequate for this task of expressing just how much she meant to him.

Loving arms slipped again around broad shoulders, hugging him tightly, sliding fingers through his short-cropped locks, scraping her nails against his scalp. "Second chances are always the best."

"I hope you're right, my Love." Adalbert whispered as he drew her in for a deep, needful kiss, cradling her there. "I hope you're right."

* * *

><p>"...And hereby formally enter into this alliance, Antoine Jean Le Pierre of Fransia." Antoine's voice echoed through the vast throne room, the sound reverberating in his ears. He gazed down at the piece of paper in front of him, before daring to glance up at the man across from him, dressed in a black uniform, a long, gold-trim coat wrapped around that lean form. There was so much written on the other man's face that he couldn't decipher, but he knew deep down in the pit of his stomach that he wasn't making a mistake.<p>

A gentle hand touched lightly against Antoine's shoulder as Lyla dared to step in close for a moment, wanting to offer her strength to the one she secretly loved. Brown eyes turned to meet her grey ones and Antoine offered her a grateful smile for her reassurance. Something else was written upon his face when he gazed at her, a promise that in coming days he desired to speak of others matters with her than just ones of state. A promise that what was between them fully acknowledged.

Yuuri Shibuya-Weller offered his counterpart a warm, reassuring smile, before signing the document in front of him, officially welcoming Antoine's Kingdom into the Alliance formed between the several human Countries and the Great Demon Kingdom. The Maou wanted nothing more than to sit down, his entire body aching and throbbing from the demands that forced upon it, but he refused to allow his weakness to show, knowing how important this moment was. He knew that it was more than possible that there were still Big Cimaron spies planted amongst the ranks of his counterpart's people, and he wanted to be sure that he looked strong for them. Caution was the word of the day.

"Yuuri Shibuya-Weller of the Great Demon Kingdom," He responded as he finished signing, setting the pen down in order to survey all those around them. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed that at some point Ken Murata had joined Gunter and Gwendal in the ranks behind him. Ken looked as bad as Yuuri felt, face drawn and dark circles ringing the man's eyes showing he had slept little.

"With the signing of this treaty, the alliance between Fransia and the Great Demon Kingdom will be official." Gunter's Von Christ's voice rang out over the proceedings, drawing all the soldiers in the room to attention.

"Please, take my hand." Yuuri stepped forwards, his scarred hand reaching out towards Antoine in a regal offer of camaraderie and a promise for a brighter future for both of their Kingdoms.

Antoine hesitated for a moment, his brown eyes widening in uncertainty as he gazed down at the hand offered to him.

"You were the one that decided on this alliance with the Great Demon Kingdom, Sire." Lyla's voice was a reassuring balm to Antoine's nerves. "Rest assured, we will be with you, no matter where that may lead." _I will be with you, my King, always._ Though she might not have said it, the look on her face spoke to all of them of just how much she loved and wished to protect this man.

Stretching out his own hand, the King of Fransia accepted that calloused and scarred palm in a solid grip. "It is my pleasure to join with you in this future where we will walk together as allies."

"Let this mark a new bond between our peoples," Yuuri's voice rang out for all to hear, his dark eyes sweeping around to look at every face surrounding them before lingering upon the face of the human before him. "And signal an end to the misunderstandings and mistrust of the past."

"Yes." Antoine whispered, feeling a swell of something _glorious_ inside of him as he squeezed those calloused digits a little more tightly. He could almost see it. See the future where war was but a distant memory. It was a dream he would from this time forwards hold onto deep inside of his heart. A dream shared with all the people of his kingdom and those beyond its borders...

* * *

><p><strong>Dungeon, Paname Castle, Fransia<strong>

Boots sounded against stone as Conrart Weller made his way down the winding steps towards the dungeon, his eyes sweeping over the faces of the two guards present and then over Griesela Geigen Huber who hovered off to one side. Though to any other eyes, the man might have appeared lax in his duties as guard, Conrart was certain this man was anything but relaxed.

A soft sigh escaped Griesela as he straightened, his intense eyes sliding over the features of the man before him. "My Prince," He said by way of greeting, straightening from his position and glancing towards the door that opened into the cell where Yozak rested. A part of him was extremely reluctant to see the Prince anywhere near the traitor, but he knew that it was not his place to question such things. "How is the King, Sire?"

"Attending to matters of state," A worried frown tugged at Conrart's lips, when he glanced back the way he had come. "He's still weak, but recovering well. Gwendal and Gunter are with him now."

It was probably the only reason he had dared to leave his side with the state his beloved was in. However, he needed to see Yozak, even if it was for just a few seconds, just to reassure himself that his friend was healing well. Even after all that had happened, he couldn't let their friendship go, no matter how badly he had been betrayed by the man he had trusted with his life.

"Its best you only see him for a few minutes, he's still recovering." In addition, the man was still a prisoner charged with the crime of treason against his King and the Prince Consort, something that everyone took extremely seriously. "Please, Sire."

"Very well, I will make this quick." Conrart responded grimly

Turning away from Griesela, he stepped up between the two Fransian guards, the massive oak door pushed open before him. He gazed upon the face of the man who had driven a blade deep into Conrart's soul, yet in those blue eyes which lifted to regard him with surprise, he could see that little boy he had known during his childhood.

_A bitterly cold wind bore through his cloak as his cinnamon eyes gazed down from where he sat astride a horse beside his father, upon the face of an amber haired youth. In those angry, azure eyes, Conrart glimpsed all the emotions he had felt just the night before when he'd realised that a time would come when he would lose his father to old age and death. When he realised just how mortal humans truly were, and just how fragile their lives. _

_Behind the boy, he could make out the crudely chiselled letters of a feminine name upon what appeared to be a gravestone, hewn from the local grey rock of this barren landscape. His gut had clenched with realisation of just what it was this boy had lost ,and his heart ached in shared pain. This boy had lost his mother, the one person this boy had had left in the world. There was such anger there, such raw devastation shining in the depths of those eyes. Small dirt streaked fists were curled tight at the boy's sides, showing just how determined this helpless boy had been against all the hatred that had been directed upon him and his mother just because they were different and had dared to love a demon. _

_Cinnamon eyes twisted to gaze up at his father, the words already on Conrart's tongue. The request was borne from a mutual and silent understanding forged between two boys. Those blue eyes had seen a shadow of his own pain in those of Conrart's...the privileged youth that had shattered all of the hate that the blue-eyed boy had wanted to feel towards him. They were the same. Somewhere deep inside of them they understood this, they were the same. _

_Somewhere deep inside they burned with the helplessness of the destiny they had been handed. _

Yozak straightened as much as he could where he sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes lifting to gaze into the face of the man he had so selfishly betrayed. "Words will never be enough," His voice cracked under the weight of his emotions, of the pain he had inflicted upon those he had sworn to protect, "To apologise for what I have done... for the betrayal... of your trust."

"It will never be as it was." Silvered eyes took in the man's features as he stepped forwards and halted, knowing the door was still open behind him, the guards not daring to leave their prisoner with such an important guest of their King. "I don't think any of it will be as it was."

The amber head drooped as those words struck a chord within him, his fingers clenching into the fabric of his pants, bandages visible around his left arm and disappearing underneath his shirt.

"I considered running, you know?" His head tipped back to look up at the slitted windows above him, his bright blue eyes softening for a moment, his throat working. "I considered it..." A tight-lipped smile touched his mouth, his shoulders slumping back against the wall where his bed rested. "But what would that achieve?"

"I knew you wouldn't," The Prince murmured. Conrart pushed himself away from the door, slowly approaching the man he had once trusted with his life, uncertain now that he was finally face to face with him what he would do. "You wouldn't leave Kenta, especially not now."

Yozak let out a bark of choked laughter as Conrart hit the nail squarely on the head. "You know me too well."

"Not really." The half-breed shook his head slightly, silver eyes clouding with his own chaotic thoughts. "I don't think I ever truly knew you the way I thought I did. I always thought... '_We are the same'_. Yet, now... I know I was wrong. We might have been the same thing... a mixture of blood... a child of two worlds. However, where that led us... was along two paths that crossed from time to time. You were alone... and I... I was too angry to see what I had right before my nose."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Gurrier straightened, scowling lightly. "Don't belittle it. You had more _shit_ to deal with than I did back then..."

After all that had happened, somehow once more they had found that easy ground between them and Conrart was grateful for it. Even though his heart ached for what had happened, he acknowledged he was partially to blame, having never recognized what the other man felt for him, even though in some part of his heart he had been aware of it.

"I thought I was right. I thought I knew what I was doing." Gurrier let out a rushed breath, part of him aware that just behind the half-closed door, two men were listening to them, a pair of men who had given he and Conrart the one thing they had always desired, _true love_. "It was the Great One that came to us when the King transported us away from the fire, you... you were dying... I would have agreed to anything if it meant you would be fine. It was the Great One... but yet... some part of me knew... there was something wrong with him... something wrong with the entire situation."

Rubbing a hand back through his hair, his expression ragged and lost. "We both know he asked you first. That he questioned you, and you refused but... I didn't. I would have done anything... anything to ensure that you remained whole... that you remained alive..." What he had done was unforgiveable, truly unforgiveable. "I know you don't remember anything of that time between worlds-of your defiance in the face of the Great One..."

"I gave up information to Belar. Enough that he would allow you to live. Enough that I would gain just a little bit of trust in order to do what it was the Great One had instructed me to do. Find the Boxes and return them to him. I betrayed the Great Demon Kingdom... and I betrayed you. I have regretted it from the moment I saw you in that cell it was then that I knew the path I had chosen was the wrong one." Blowing out a long breath, his head sank down into his hands, the burning sting of tears rasping against the back of his eyelids, but he refused to allow himself to wallow in self-pity.

"But I kept thinking... if I could just keep you with me you would realise just how much I loved you... how much I _**thought**_ I loved you." Shoulders slumping, Yosak's entire body deflated in on itself, his blue eyes were stormy with the rough edge of his emotions and the pain he knew his own selfish desires had inflicted upon all those he had cared about. "I thought I was the person for you.-the right person. I was selfish and, I truly didn't understand what love was until I met Kenta. I realise now that I wanted to hold onto you... hold onto... the one person that I had. I wanted to hold onto you so that you wouldn't leave me behind as well, and go to a place I could no longer reach."

Listening and finally truly understanding a little of what was in his friend's heart. Conrart took those last few steps forwards and reached out with one hand to clasp his friend's shoulder, squeezing it warmly.

"I didn't see... that you were still here at the time."_ However, he didn't know if... _

"I'm still here," Conrart whispered, voice so quiet that even he could barely hear it. "I'm still here, Yozak."

Blue eyes lifted to regard his friend, a tiny flicker of hope lurking within his soul, sparking within his eyes, fragile and desperate. "Still...?"

"You'll have to **work** for it." The silver-eyed prince jolted with surprise when he felt warm arms slip around his waist from behind, a lithe body pressing along his spine, lips touching against the nape of his neck, beneath the wild strands of hair. "But... everyone deserves a second chance, _even idiots_." Conrart's hand pressed lightly against the one that rested over his heart, their fingers lightly woven together. If he had learned anything from his beloved King it was that second chances sometimes brought out the best in people-Adalbert was a prime example of that.

"Just don't screw it up." Kenta demanded a little hoarsely through his tears of relief as he followed his King into the room.

Practically flinging himself at Yozak, Kenta wrapped his arms around the man he loved, holding him tightly, even though the man winced slightly at the tightness of his grip. Yozak returned the embrace, pulling his beloved closer in against him, desperate for the comfort only Kenta could give him. Dropping his face down to bury his nose against fragrant black locks, his azure gaze flicked to Yuuri's face where it appeared around one of Conrart's broad shoulders. Relief swarmed through him at the teasing curve that came to the Demon King's lips, the understanding that touched that lovely face.

"Don't disappoint me, Yozak." Yuuri remarked sternly. The Maou leaned against his husband's back, grateful for his strength and the reassurance of his touch. It had still taken quite a bit out of him to tend to Yozak, but he was glad to see the man recovered as much as he already had. "You're a very lucky man to have two wonderful people willing to speak on your behalf. I'll smooth things over with everyone. I'll see to it that the rest think that you were working undercover for me, though some will need to know the truth."

The half-breed was humbled by the actions of those around him, by the good fortune that had somehow found its way to him. Somehow... somehow there was hope again in his world. His fingers curved gently around the nape of his beloved's neck, lightly tipping that sweet face upwards so he could gaze into eyes so dark they looked like pools of melted, bitter chocolate.

"Thank you."

Murata blinked up at his lover, confusion crossing his features as he tried to work out what he was actually being thanked for.

"Thank you all," He breathed out, his head lowering downwards until his lips could brush against those soft ones, the heat of them making his own tingle. "I do not know what I would have done without you."

Any reply Murata might have made was cut off by the warm mouth that devoured his own right there before Conrart Weller and Yuuri Shibuya Weller, both of whom chuckled at his slight embarrassment of being kissed. But he didn't care, and as he was kissed as if it was the end of the world by his lover, until he was breathless, and his world was right once more.

* * *

><p>"By the orders of King Antoine, you are to be immediately exiled from Fransia, until the time you become once more a respected citizen of the Great Demon Kingdom." Lyla stared up into the vivid blue eyes of a man who had helped in his own way to guide her path towards happiness even if he didn't realise it. Her grey gaze flickered back over her shoulder to regard the handsome King standing only a few yards behind her, their eyes meeting for a moment of affection that had Antoine actually stepping forwards slightly, as if drawn to be by her side.<p>

Yuuri watched from the back of his horse. Conrart was settled on his mount behind him, his strong form supporting the King. A part of him was grateful that this chapter of their lives slowly was coming to a close. Finally, after so long, Gurrier Yozak was returning home alongside them. Yet, he had to admit that Gwendal and Adalbert were both watching the half-breed like a pair of hawks, suspicion still written on their every feature. It would take a lot of hard work for Yozak to find his place amongst them once more. Things might be forgiven... _in part_, but forgetting it was a whole other kettle of fish. Yuuri, too, knew it would be quite some time before he would be able to gaze upon Yozak without remembering all that the man had put them through with his actions... yet...

Yozak had done all he could to protect Conrart in his own way, and for that Yuuri would always be grateful. At least it was one step in the right direction.

Lyla slipped the key into the lock on Yozak's shackles, allowing the lock to click and for the heavy iron to fall away, an almost symbolic release of this man from the prison he had cast himself into with his own guilt and regrets. It was... a small release for them all in a way.

"I release you into the care of your King. I hope that the next time we meet, it will be under far better circumstances." Lyla flashed Yozak a little grin, her eyes bright with the hope of days yet to come. "Lord Gurrier Yozak, please learn to appreciate where you belong a bit more."

"I will," The man replied honestly, turning towards the people who were willing to offer him another chance at life, though his eyes couldn't help but linger on the form of his beloved, whose hand was stretched out towards him. "I most certainly will."

Yozak strode towards Kenta, his hand reaching out and curled around the one of his beloved, their fingers lacing together- warm, loving and so full of the promise of what their future could be together. Swinging himself up behind his beloved, he slipped his arms around that slight frame, taking up the reins, while the man before him leaned back into the heat of his body. That simple action spoke of just how much trust Kenta had in him. Someone truly did believe in him and it only took one person to change your entire life... and everything you believed in it.

The other men were already moving off before them, their guards pausing a moment until Yozak spurred his horse into motion, carrying their both forwards, away from new allies and back towards a place he didn't think he would be ever allowed to return to. His life had changed, but as he considered all that had come to pass, he knew in the moment as he rested his cheek against his lover's inky locks, that it had changed for the better.

* * *

><p><strong>Episode list (episodes 43 and 45 combined), episodes 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, (possibly 64 and 65) 67-78 (though this will be reworked) <strong>

**I hoped you enjoyed this! Will be hopefully updating soon! **


	42. Part 42: Spectres Arc: Visitations

**Author's Note: Apologies for the long delay, this chapter was a really big test of me as most of it was my own work and went through several different plot lines I thought about introducing to this new story Arc. This story has several small scenes from Episode 43: Baby Panic At Covenant Castle. The next chapter will be based on two episodes, Episodes 44: The Phantom Girl and Episode 46: The Priestess In The Forest. I'm currently working on the second half of Struck's last chapter, hopefully should be done within a week. **

**And a quick thanks to several wonderful people. My Beta Cheryl, Amber who inspired me with some wonderful fanart and Christy who gave me a few very good opinions on my plot. **

**A special thanks to Serry 2 for giving me the name for Celi and Raven's child!**

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Crying out in ecstasy, Yuuri's fingers clenched into the fabric of the bedding beneath him as his hips were dragged backwards fiercely to the pounding shaft that claimed him so completely. A hand was coiled tightly around his cock, meaning with each thrust he was driven forwards into those callused fingers—ones, which knew exactly how to work his body to perfection. A mouth trailed lightly over the nape of his neck, teeth nipping at the skin of his shoulder, hot breath sliding up over damp skin, leaving gooseflesh in its wake.

"Almost _there_…" Conrart's husky growl sent a shiver of delight through Yuuri's entire body. "Scream for me… I want to hear you… I want the whole castle to hear you…"

Their bodies danced together, slick, damp flesh gliding one across another, creating an unbearably pleasurable friction that grew and grew as the moments passed.

With one powerful thrust, Conrart buried himself balls deep within his lover, grinding himself hard against that tight rear. His shaft rubbed a fierce line of heat over his husband's sweetspot and in return those clenching muscles tightened like steel bands about him, increasing the unbearable tension created by the rub of their intimate flesh together.

Yuuri squirmed forwards desperately, the pressure trapped within him too much, his desperate whimpers filling the air, only to find himself tugged back again, unable to escape his lover. Panting hard, his face flushed crimson, his entire body shivering with the need to spill himself, he came with a helpless scream, every part of him shattering beneath his husband. Inner muscles clamped down around Conrart in return, preventing his escape and thrusting him over the edge a moment later, their mingled voices filling the vast chamber of their bedroom.

Hot, sticky seed spattered the sheets, as ecstasy claimed the two entwined lovers.

_This love..._ this love was indeed a blessed thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"_Oh dear, we don't have enough sheets!"_ The voice of one of the chambermaids echoed up from the central courtyard, drifting in through an open window.

"I'm sure there are some in the storehouse."

"Let's bring the red ones too!"

"Okay!" The three echoed in unison, scurrying past, their arms full of clean, dry sheets. _"My goodness, so much to do! Busy! Busy! Busy!" _

Yuuri stood watching them, his pants half buttoned up around his slim hips, his obsidian gaze watching the frantic activities taking place just on the other side of the glass.

He was truly glad to be home, finally to be back where he belonged, his soul feeling at peace after so long away. Even though there was so much still to be done… Nothing could be done about it. The final Forbidden Box was yet to be located and it was definitely going to take time for the searchers to come up with possibilities for its hiding place.

Even he had no inkling as to where the last Forbidden Box was secreted away. Scholars, allies and soldiers alike were searching records, hidden locations and every other place imaginable for it. He could only hope that together they would be able to confront whatever it was that would come when they did find it.

Outside of the castle grounds, one thing at least seemed to have changed for the better. The thick, pungent darkness that had once blanketed the entire Tomb of the Great One was nowhere to be found, as if the Originators had gone into hiding. _Had they? Would they truly have retreated so completely after his last confrontation with them and the twisted, corrupted version of the Great One that they had laid such a claim to?_

The Maou knew the storm was coming, he could read the electricity in the air, promising that when it finally did break it would truly test them all. However, for now, all they could do was prepare, and still to try to celebrate all those good things that still existed in their world-to remind themselves daily of what it was they were fighting to protect.

Yuuri Shibuya Weller, however, could not prevent the deep seed of fear from creeping into his heart, the concern that he would not be able to work out what their plan was in time to stop it. Though they were all hoping to recover the Box, what would happen when it was recovered was still up in the air, so many things that could go wrong. That lone Box, if left out there in the world with its seals coming apart and the blackness seeping from within to contaminate everything it got its talons into, could cause so much grief and suffering to the world. All the others certainly had... and to such a horrific degree that his heart clenched with the memory.

Forcing his thoughts away from things that could not yet be changed, he considered the arrival of some very welcome guests later that day. Lady Cecilie and her husband Raven would soon be arriving for the ceremony, along their newly born daughter who would be presented to the Great One. It truly warmed his heart and soul to know that she had found such happiness after so long and that she was well so soon after the birth of her child. It would also be the first time the three brothers would be meeting their little sister Gabriele Von Spitzweg, the designated heir to that austere family's holdings whose protection and Lordship had fallen to Raven and Celi after the incidents with Stoffel. The disgraced former lord had retreated to life a quiet life out of the public eye.

"Where have your thoughts gone to, my King?" The soft whisper almost made Yuuri jump, but the tender, butterfly kisses that danced down the length of his bare throat and onto his shoulder immediately eased him. Loving arms coiled around him from behind, tugging him backwards into a blissfully naked body. The raw heat of Conrart's body soaked right into Yuuri's, the Prince Consort's chin dropping down to rest on that nuzzled shoulder to gaze out at the vibrant activity outside.

"Just about how good it is to be home." Eyes closed and he leaned back into the comforting embrace of the one he loved. "How good it is to have something to celebrate for once."

"The Great Birthing Ceremony and soon the wedding… You are right there is much to be celebrated." Tipping his head slightly, Conrart rubbed his cheek lightly against his beloved's, enjoying the tickling contact that made his lover laugh softly at the teasing sensation. "But that wasn't what was in your thoughts were in the beginning… I know you, my love."

Before Yuuri could answer his husband, they were both startled by a helpless scream…

"_**I'VE HAD IT!" **_

It rang through the entire castle, almost making the glass rattle comically in response.

"That sounded like Gunter." Yuuri remarked, both brows raising. The man had been in recent weeks a far calmer individual, Conrart having remarked that the man was far more like how he had been during his academy days than how Yuuri had come to know him to be. "Do you think…?"

"More than likely," Conrart chuckled softly, "Anissina has him."

"Should we?" The Maou mused with a cocked brow at his lover.

"I have to admit, I am indeed curious just what she has come up with to torture him this time."

* * *

><p><strong>The Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Hey, don't push so much. Why don't you try walking backwards?! It's a pain." Dakaskos grumbled at his fellow guard, while he hefted the weight of one of the larger wooden cribs that were to be used during the Birthing Ceremony. Twinges of pain rippled through his back in response to repeatedly carrying around these heavy wooden objects. They felt more like they had been built to protect against an army, than the comfort of a single infant.

"Please be more careful with that." One of the strikingly pretty Priestesses called. She was holding an uncoiled scroll in her hands, consulting it in order to tell the guards exactly where the cradle they were carrying needed to be placed as each crib was intricately marked with the crest of one of the Ten Aristocratic Families of the Great Demon Kingdom. "It's extremely important to be careful with that one especially!"

"_Indeed_," The bald solider let out a tired sigh, his eyes rolled heavenward, before continuing to move backwards.

There was a gurgle of happiness from somewhere near Dakaskos's feet as a crawling infant appeared from around the edge of one of the other cribs, heading straight for his legs. The soldier's eyes widened as he became aware of the sudden threat to the little boy that the cradle he was carrying had become, his fingers straining to keep an especially secure hold on the heavy object.

"El!" Nicola cried out her son's name, her conversation with Lady Ulrike having distracted her away from her rather adventurous son for several moments. He _had been_ playing at her feet quietly at her feet. **"EL!"**

Dakaskos twisted sideways in a desperate attempt to avoid the little boy. Letting out a startled cry of his own, he thumped straight into one of the most ornately carved of the cribs, making it jerk sharply. His knees hit the edge of the wood rail behind him and the weight of the first one forced him backwards. With a flailing pinwheel of limbs, the soldier dropped the cradle he was carrying just as El was snatched away to the safety of his mother's arms. The soldier was not so fortunate, his lanky frame tipped over the crib his bottom had fallen into, toppling over the heavy wooden frame with a solid _thump! _Like a stone tumbling down a hill, Dakaskos was sent head-over-turkey in a tumble of limbs amongst the cradles, bruised and cursing, but none the worse for wear.

A small wooden box rattled free from where it had been safely tucked away amongst the cradles, once hidden beneath the heavy supports and carved woodwork on the furthest of the cradles. It rolled with a ethereal chiming to rest against Nicola's feet, while she cradled her son desperately to her, her arms wrapped around the startled little boy.

El's wide brown eyes blinked at the sight of the dust covered soldier attempting to pry himself out of the collection of bedding, ribs and wood that he had become tangled up in and he let out a little giggle of delight. It was only a few moments later before everyone else that had rushed out into the courtyard at the sounds of panicked shouting were caught up in the hilarity of poor Dakaskos' predicament, and then the entire Tomb was filled with the sound of bright laughter, unfortunately at Dakaskos' expense.

As Nicola bounced her son against her hip, her boot lightly bumped against something that jingled merrily back at her. Curious brown eyes blinked downwards at the lacquered box, and she reached down to lift it up, startled by the soft little chimes that rang musically when it was handled. Her fingers brushed across the tiny little white flowers that were painted onto the ebony and crimson surface, a fine layer of dust clung to it as she cradled it in one palm, but before she could take a closer look at it, Nicola's attention was drawn away. One of the priestesses called out to her, making sure that both she and El hadn't been hurt in the accident.

In that moment of diversion, inquisitive hands reached out to grasp at the glossy surface, the tiny bubble of magic in the boy's fingertips enough to unlock the hidden latch, almost springing it open. Something flickered from within, a tiny glimmer of sunshine trapped within the well-loved music box, yet it danced like a firefly in the shadowy interior. The moment, however, it was noticed by the little hawk-eyed boy, it darted from its home and into the slowly settling dust cloud before tiny fingers close about it.

El's small hands stretched out towards it, his eyes wide with curiosity, when he let out a wordless plea for that strange little spark to come back, but it darted off, fading into a tiny spot of sunshine flitting along the floor, between restless feet and out of sight.

A tiny note of sweet music lifted into the noisy confines of the courtyard and Nicola immediately flushed, closing the lid back up immediately just as it began to lift. "This is not for us." She whispered to her son, closing it up and slipping it into her pocket, knowing that in all the chaos she wouldn't be able to find the owner of this small music box. She promised herself that later, after the ceremony, she would see it returned.

Pressing her lips against her son's forehead, she cradled him against her, smoothing a hand over hair the exact same chestnut as her own. She could still not believe just how much happiness she had found amongst her new and deeply treasured friends. Though El was older than most here, she was only to grateful to be involved, knowing her husband would be beside her throughout the entire occasion, and that their son would never experience the same terrible discrimination as so many other children had because their parents were Demon Tribe and human. Her little boy would know he was the best of both worlds and that both of his parents dearly loved him.

"Your Papa will be back soon," She crooned, bouncing her son and feeling her heart warm at the thought of her husband's return to her side. She desired nothing else. "My husband." She breathed, a smile curving her lips as she thought of Hube.

Even now she was able to hear the whisper of his voice against her ear, a memory of a night curled within protective arms, the cultured rumble of her name... and the deeply felt... _I love you. _

And her own reply, spoken with all of her heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

A single white rose sat propped up within a little glass vase, its petals still a touch damp from the dew that still clung to most things so early in the morning. A cup of tea sat beside it, still steaming invitingly in greeting to the woman who paused to admire the small gesture of love that awaited her after such an early morning start. Gisela Von Christ couldn't help but feel the tickle of butterfly wings drifting about within her stomach at the knowledge of who it was that had left such a thoughtful gift for her.

Still, after how long they had been engaged, the simple fact that the one man she loved in all the world returned her love was a gift that she knew she would never tire of. Her Adalbert was as thoughtful as ever. She could easily imagine those large hands cradling the small porcelain cup she favoured for her morning tea ever so carefully. Reaching out, she cradled it between her palms and inhaled the sweet fragrance that rose from within, eyes closing in a moment of perfect contentment. Gisela could almost hear him, the deep rumble of his voice whispering adoring words into her ear.

Only a few more days, a few more and she would become the wife… and maybe in time a mother. A gentle smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, the mere idea settling deeply into her heart.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to the air, to the ghosts that still lingered the halls of Covenant Castle. "I'm sorry, but… I'm grateful for I might never have had this chance if not for what happened."

She had to wonder if Julia had known. If somewhere deep within, her dearest friend had known just what kind of love she harboured for the one who had not been hers. "Did you know, Julia?" Smiling thoughtfully, Gisela's heart wished that her dearest mentor could be with her. A spark of guilt flickered within her heart over the fact that she was there... while her friend was not.

Sipping at her tea, she contemplated the perfect rose decorating her desk, knowing that Adalbert had not simply picked the nearest at hand, but would have spent long minutes selecting this particular bloom just for her. Once she had observed him out of a window, watching the usually gruff man stand in one of the gardens with a small pruning knife in one hand, examining each bloom in order to find just the right one to represent all the things he wished to say when words failed him as they sometimes seemed to.

A soft knock on the door to the Medical Wing drew her from her thoughts, and her head lifted to regard the messenger from the Tomb, spending a minute conversing with him in order to arrange for all the things she would need that day while she was over at the Tomb. She would be overseeing the Birthing Ceremony and as the Maou had requested from her and her staff, she would do a quick check up to ensure that all the infants that did come in were healthy, before they left.

It had always warmed her heart to hear all of the various thoughts the Maou had on improving the systems in place to care for the people of the Great Demon Kingdom. Most mornings the man usually came in for a half an hour to ensure all was well with Gisela and that she had all she needed. He was thoughtful during those visits, even when there was so much that already took up his time and thoughts. However, she had noticed that the Maou had been unusually distracted since his return, as if something other than the usual worries of the Kingdom weighed upon his shoulders. She still remembered that particular look; the one Julia had often worn even before the beginning of the War.

"Sometimes I need to pinch myself... to remember..."

_"Remember what, Sela?" _

All the blood drained out of Gisela's face, her hands trembled fiercely around the fine china cup she was cradling between them. The question had come from behind her... _in the vicinity of her desk_... the desk that had once belonged to the owner of that extremely familiar voice. It had been so long since she had heard that particular nickname that only one person had ever called her because of the depth of their friendship.

A croaking sound issued from between her lips, no words managing to even remotely form in her mouth.

_"Sela?"_ The voice was worried. _Clink_. A teacup found its saucer. _"Sela...? What's the matter?"_

_**SMASH!**_

Fragments of finely painted porcelain exploded upon impact with the solid floor, the tea spreading in a wet pool around the broken shards. Gisela's hands trembled violently and her back stiffened. She dared not look behind her for fear of what she would see. Tears clogged up her throat, the resurrected grief of having had to watch her friend slowly fade away bit at her again. Julia had died simply because she had given far too much of herself to the world. She had been unable to convince her superior, and dearest friend, to veer from the course she had set herself upon all of those decades before.

_"I'm sorry for startling you, my friend." _

Something else bubbled up from deep within Gisela; pained, yet relentlessly determined.

She did not wish to give up Adalbert, not even to Julia or her ghost._ I love him and he loves me. _Yet, Julia's shadow had always hovered over their relationship; a presence that couldn't be shaken or ignored. Her heart was being torn apart, the conflicting desires to turn around and acknowledge what her senses were telling was real, or to simply walk away and keep on believing there was nothing in the world that could threaten what she had with her fiancé.

_"How's Adalbert doing today? Have you seen him this morning?" _

A ragged cry of agony was ripped from her dry throat and she did turn then, hearing the sound of her beloved's name once more from those lips too much for her to bear in silence. Yet, she felt such joy seeing Julia again, the warmth of long years of friendship and affection for her mentor rose up alongside her agony.

An ivory shadow filled her chair, the bright sunlight dancing through the faintest outlines of that familiar shape. Sightless blue eyes turned downwards towards the single white rose that sat upon the table-fingers had reached out to brush against the dew-streaked petals. A smile curved delicate pink lips, and the spirit's entire expression softened. The more Gisela Von Christ looked upon her, the solider she appeared. Each detail grew in clarity as Gisela's heartbeat pounded louder and louder in her ears. Tears sprung from underneath her lashes, sliding silently down her pale cheeks, her emerald eyes shimmering with a soul-wrenching pain and those terrible, warring emotions.

_"He's very thoughtful..." _

"_**Please...!**_" The single cry erupted from Gisela's throat, cutting off anything more Suzanna Julia Von Wincott might have said. "_Please_..."

She didn't know what she was pleading for, only that she didn't wish to hear Julia talk about Adalbert. She didn't wish to hear him praised by the one that had had him for so long while her own claim upon that loving man was fragile and still so new. So much of their time already had been spent apart.

"I... I..." Wishing to say the words to Julia, to admit the depth of her love and devotion to her beloved to this one woman, the words lodged themselves into the back of her throat, refusing to come out. Fists clenched by her sides, nails biting into the skin of her palms. "Julia... forgive me, but... you _shouldn't_ be here."

A tiny sob filled the silence between them, Gisela's tears dripping from her chin onto the floor, her shoulders shuddering with the wave of bone-shaking sobs that wanted to tear her apart. _I don't want to lose him, not to you, not to anyone. I couldn't bear it... I couldn't bear to live without him._

That smile had dimmed a little, Julia's growing expression uncertain, as if becoming a little aware of the fact that nothing truly was as it had been. Lines of anxiety began to spread across Julia's face, the woman standing up from where she had settled herself in the pulled out chair behind the desk.

_"Sela...? Why are you so upset? What's... wrong? Have I said something? I don't feel... right." _Julia's tone wasdeeply troubled, her shape flickering and fading, while she seemed to become more and more aware that the environment around her was far more solid then the ghostly Julia.

The azure-haired woman stretched out a hand, begging for guidance, while she half-stumbled though the very desk she had been seated at. Julia's wordless cry for help drew Gisela straight from the depths of her own inner conflicts and she immediately stepped forwards, arms out to catch Julia. The ghostly sounds of her footsteps resounded within the stillness of the room, echoing unnaturally. It was as if the world that they existed in was no longer the same one as before.

_"Sela!" _

"Julia, I've got you...!"

Just as she was about to wrap her arms around the form of her friend, Julia's outstretched hand went right through Gisela's chest. It was like an icy blast passing through her soul, sending a violent shiver jolting outwards through her limbs. Still she attempted to hold onto the woman, to embrace the friend she had lost under the cruellest of circumstances. Her fingers desperately attempted to close around quivering shoulders, but it was all too late. _Twenty years too late._

Her dearest friend passed right through her, as if she offered up no more resistance to Julia's body than the air, which hung like a cold, stifling blanket about Gisela's form. The very breath froze in her lungs, coming out from between numbed lips as an icy mist, rising in clouds about her face and blurring her vision. Tears clung to her skin and to her lower lashes, crystallising into frost as they spilled, clawing painfully down onto her cheeks and chin.

_**"SELA! WHERE ARE YOU?! SELA...?"**_

The words rang loudly in her ears, yet they seemed a thousand miles away.

Spinning around, her green eyes wide as she searched the room behind her, Gisela was greeted with nothing but the doorway leading out into the empty ward. _Julia was gone._

"Julia...?" She breathed out, taking a single step forwards, feeling her legs almost buckle like half-set jelly beneath her. "...Lady Julia...?"

Gisela staggered another step forward, her eyes seeking any hint or sign of the woman's passage. _**Nothing**_. Only the bone-numbing cold remained as evidence of what Gisela had just experienced.

Her legs went out from under her then, folding up beneath her unsteady weight, sending her downwards to the hard floor. Her head dropped into her hands as her world collapsed inwards, her muffled cries silenced by her determination that no one would witness her fracturing like a fragile piece of glass.

She _wouldn't_ break. She **couldn't** break.

Yet, she still felt as if she already had.

* * *

><p>The pungent scent of flowers filled every nook and cranny within the Castle, vibrant garlands hanging from every window and from any tiny space where floral arrangements could be squeezed. Yuuri couldn't help but rub at his nose lightly, the waves of pollen tickling his sinuses and making him want to again break out into a fit of sneezes.<p>

Conrart leaned in closer, a slightly worried frown tugging at his lips as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to gently cover his husband's nose and mouth. They paused for a moment, the Prince gently gathering his lover up into his embrace to rub a palm along the length of his spine. "I'll see to it that some of these are taken down."

"It's okay." The Maou's words muffled by his blocked sinuses. "It's so lovely like this… it would be a shame to see all this work brought down by a little case of the sniffles. I think anyone would have the sniffles with this number of flowers crammed _delightfully_ into every corner and crevice."

"I wouldn't have allowed this to happen if I had known you had allergies."

"I didn't know I did." The man responded, sniffling a little and accepting the cloth as they hurried past the most highly decorated and fragrant of the brilliant blooms. "It's probably the idea of the Birthing Ceremony that has me looking for a way out… my body attempting to help me avoid such a… spectacle."

Even though he had done numerous other civic duties as Maou, he couldn't help but feel a nauseous wave of nerves assault him every time he was reminded of another such public appearance.

Moving along the corridor at a quick pace, the sound of Gunter's desperate pleas for respite and _mercy_ guided them to a set of fine wood doors at the end of one of the passageways that sat close above their bedroom. Yuuri couldn't help but sympathetically wince along with Gunter… knowing that whatever had happened to the man was more than likely highly unpleasant if it was at Anissina's hands.

The morning was utterly full of distractions, distractions Yuuri allowed himself to become caught up in.

For the moment, Yuuri's hand closed upon the knob, ready to find out exactly what project Anissina had roped Gunter into playing guinea pig for, the wild cries of excitement from outside drew them towards the windows that overlooked the main entrance courtyard. There beyond them was a rather familiar carriage, the crimson-fringed banner of Spitzweg fluttered from the back of the elegant coach. The scarlet rose embroidered into the rich emerald fabric drew the eye with every flick, Yuuri noted to himself just how fitting that the rose was the emblem of Lady Cecilie.

There was a tidal wave of maids that seemed to instantly surround the side of the carriage, abandoning whatever work they had been tasked with, their chattering voices what had drawn them both to the window.

The first to appear was the elegant form of Raven, the man waving off the footman who had come around to open the door, in order to offer his hand out to his wife, assisting the former Maou to alight, allowing the crowd of maids and also Yuuri and Conrart to have their first glimpse of the _Princess_.

The sight of Lady Celi, whom had emerged from the carriage, startled Yuuri. There was something new to the woman, the once flamboyant Lady of Love now wore the air of motherhood about her. It was as if for the first time in Celi's life she had settled into her own skin, the tenderly wrapped up form of the little girl was cradled close against her chest protectively. She oddly made Yuuri think of a mother bear, one that would chase off any that might think of taking her daughter from her.

"Congratulations." The Maou whispered against his beloved's ear, his fingers reaching out to lace into those of his husband's, feeling them squeezed in return. "It's a girl."

Conrart felt a grin tug at his lips, gazing down upon the scene with his heart melting in his chest. The Prince Consort had not even realised he had leaned forwards against the glass one arm braced upon the stone moulding, silvered eyes peering down in an attempt to catch the first glimpse of his little sister.

"If you lean any closer, my Prince, you'll end up with your face pressed up against the glass like a stingray in the aquarium." The Maou puffed out his cheeks, a finger lifting to push the tip of his nose upwards, attempting to demonstrate exactly what kind of expression his lover would had have.

"_Gruesome_, I must say. Maybe even grotesque." The man chuckled at his beloved's attempt to brighten his spirits even more, though he had to say he didn't quite get the reference his beloved had made. "Who could love a face like that…?"

"Hopefully, you would! _**Or**_ my dearest Prince, I will be truly heartbroken."

Conrart swooped in, wrapping both arms around Yuuri's body and twisting him until his back was flat up against the stone that framed the long window. One forearm pressed against the wall to one side of the Maou's head, his face darting in to steal a toe-curling kiss from his lover. Their bodies were crushed intimately together, Conrart's mouth exploring every inch of Yuuri's, determined to leave no space unexplored, until they were both wildly breathless and sharing a moment of private joy at just being together.

Callused fingers brushed tenderly against the length of the Maou's cheekbone. A thumb lingered against a damp lower lip, stroking across it delicately. "You are too tempting for your own good."

"And you, Conrart Weller, spend your life making me desire to keep you all to myself." Yuuri's heart was racing within his chest, a shiver dancing along his nerve endings as he gazed up at the one he loved. Reaching up, his arms coiled around powerful shoulders, tugging the taller man in just a little closer, longing only for the reassurance that this man truly was safe within his embrace. Time had dulled little of the sharp stab of loneliness and grief of that long period they had spent apart so unwillingly. "I would… if I could… The thought..." The Maou's words trailed off, his entire demeanour shifting ever so slightly, his lips pressed together as a tiny shiver of a different sort, tickled through him, sending a faint rush of gooseflesh rising across his skin.

Yuuri's entire soul felt for an instant as if someone had coiled a cold, wet blanket around it, squeezing at it from the inside at the agonizing thought of being without the one he loved so deeply. A chilling ache started somewhere in the region of his heart, slowly dragging fingers through him like an icy breeze, leaving frost behind in its wake.

"Nothing shall ever do so again." Conrart's lips pressed against his husband's ear, reading in the slight tremble of his beloved's body what thought had claimed a hold over Yuuri's soul. He could feel the clench of his beloved's fingers into the shoulders of his jacket, the turbulent emotions of their owner reflected in that telling action. "I would fight with every breath within me to find my way back to your side, no matter where it is you may have gone." Pushing backwards, enough to take all of his lover's downturned face in, silvered eyes traced the pale features of the Maou. "I have no other desire in all the world than to be with you."

The shadows seemed to have grown in those incredible obsidian eyes when they flicked up to Conrart's face for an instant before dropping again. There was an almost sightless quality to the rich black... as if they were twin pools of inky shadows that gazed out of the world unseeingly. It was as if, for an instant of time, Yuuri had been drawn away to another place, the incredible thread of something magical between them shuddering in protest of whatever seemed to be attempting to wrench them apart. Something was trying to get in, a shadow looking to find a crack in the Maou's defences and slip inside.

The window just beside them reflected the image of them together, it caught Conrart's attention for just a split second as he thought he saw someone else in Yuuri's place-a familiar feminine face captured in that mirrored surface. Yet, the second he recognised that face, it was gone, leaving only the two of them behind. Their reflections suddenly seemed infinitely more sombre and dark, as if someone had stepped upon their graves.

"_**Yuuri!**_" The Prince hissed sharply.

The Maou shivered involuntarily, his head jerking up at the sound of his given name, his dark eyes wide as if drawn out of a strange daze he hadn't even realised he had fallen into.

"I'm sorry, Conrart," Yuuri flashed his husband an apologetic smile, shaking his head a little, and lifting a hand to rub his fingers across his face. "I must still be tired from all the piles of paperwork that have come to haunt me since my return. I swear I have read through enough pieces of paper to fill an entire forest."

Conrart hesitated, certain right down to his marrow it was not the issue of paperwork that had put such an expression on his beloved's face Something else was definitely at work here. Yet, vexingly, he had no idea what.

"Yuuri...?" Conrart prompted, his voice softening and his brows furrowing together as he studied that beautiful face.

"It's nothing." The Maou responded, hugging his lover close to him and leaning up to deliver a soft kiss against that warm mouth, lingering there for a long moment. "We should go and see our newly arrived visitors. I'm certain they are already wondering where we have gotten to."

The Prince Consort couldn't help but be left with an ache in his soul, knowing that for just one moment, it had been _Julia_ in his arms... and not his beloved Yuuri. Memories of times long past stirred deeply within him, times that he had locked away in order to try to forget them.

"Come," Yuuri whispered, slipping from within his beloved's embrace and wrapping one hand around a much large one, tugging insistently. "I want to meet my new sister-in-law."

* * *

><p><strong>Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Imagine me, participating in this magnificent ceremony!" Nicola's entire face was alight with joy at being part of something few humans were ever invited to share in.

"_Oh_...?" Kenta Murata propped his chin up on his palm, lips quirking ever so slightly as he thoughtfully took in the sight of Nicola and little El where four of the priestesses, who were fascinated by the chirpy little boy, surrounded them. "That's her? That's the human girl who married a Tribesman?"

"That is right." Ulrike responded from where she sat beside the Great Sage.

"I wonder..."

"Wonder what?"

"About the little boy of course," His dark eyes fixed on the little boy that burbled happily up at his admirers. "It's common knowledge after all that babies born from human and Demons often turn out to be different." He bit at his lower lip thoughtfully, chewing on it.

"For the most part, those children are not normally gifted with magical powers, but in rare cases, a special child might possess extremely powerful gifts."

Both paused for a moment, thinking upon one such person that could qualify as belonging to that rare breed. The Maou himself was born of such a union, possessing the kind of magical skills they were speaking of. The man had pushed the boundaries of what was 'known', especially considering he had taken a Dragon Spirit into himself... a spirit which acted as an extension of the King's very being. There was not a single record of such a thing ever happening before, not even to the Great One.

"I've lived for eight hundred years and I must admit I have only witnessed one such occurrence. I must admit I can offer up no explanation for the development of magical skills by the Prince Consort... only that I think it is linked to the presence of the Maou and their... _connection_."

"Those two love confounding everyone with what they've become capable of." Kenta chuckled with a shake of his head, his gaze however turned back towards little Ernst.

"From what I've heard, her child is completely normal, possessing no magical powers at all." Ulrike rubbed lightly at her eyes, blinking once before focusing upon the little group gathered before them. "The possibility of this child being special, like the Maou is...

"It cannot be ruled out, sometimes magic comes in its own time." A small smile played around the corners of Kenta's mouth, drawing Ulrike's attention. "It seems such a shame, she is quite pretty... and to think that she's already married..."

Warm fingers curled beneath Kenta's chin and tipped his head upwards, dark burnt chocolate eyes sparkled with just a flash of mischief at the sharp gaze that met his own.

"Are you attempting to make me jealous?" Gurrier Yozak growled at his lover, his digits caressing the length of that elegant throat to feel the almost frantic beat of his lover's pulse.

"_Maybe_." Kenta's lips curved upwards into a sweet little bow, giving the former spy a challenging look. "Would it work?"

"Don't even think of trying to push me. I finally have you, I'm not about to share."

"'Not about to'? Does that mean that there might be a time when you _would_ consider sharing me?"

Yozak scowled, blue eyes flashing at the very thought of someone, **anyone,** daring to lay a hand on the one person that had never lost faith in him. A palm slid round in order to curve around the back of Kenta's neck so that he could lean in and give him what amounted to an upside down kiss. It made for quite a sight. Hot and claiming, the Great Sage found his mouth being utterly possessed by his lover's, his hand reaching up to sink into the wild amber curls that flopped downwards to tickle against his jaw. His gripped tightened in those soft locks, hungering for more. His body shivered when his lover's hand sank down below his collar, sweeping across his nape and spine.

"_Never_," Yozak murmured fiercely against soft lips.

"Good." Kenta beamed up at the man, before coaxing him into sitting down with him and taking a break from the decorating Yozak had been doing over at the Tomb.

However, the Sage's face flushed when he realised every female eye in the vicinity was currently fixed on them, two of the priestesses were flushed and giggling behind their hands over the display of affection they had just witnessed. Even Lady Ulrike's cheeks were blushed a rosy pink, her expression speaking of enjoyment, and also a hint of feminine jealousy at what Murata and Yozak shared.

Relaxing into the curve of his lover's body, his crimson-stained face was tucked into Yozak's shoulder, Kenta delighted in the tender slide of that strong hand along the length of his back, settling onto the curve of his hip. It always felt so good to be able to do something so simple, the act of just being able to be beside the one he loved, without fear or needing to keep it secret. The only problem now was Murata's choice to stay at the Tomb of the Great One, he sometimes regretted it, knowing that half their time spent together was doing the oddest tasks around the Tomb from repairs to weeding.

Yozak had been uncomfortable with the thought of returning to Covenant Castle though his actions had been explained, the awkwardness of the journey back from Fransia had shown him that though he had been forgiven, his actions had not been forgotten. It was difficult for Yozak to look any of his friends in the eye without guilt almost swallowing the man whole and Kenta couldn't stand to see one more suspicious glare from one of the soldiers and staff that served the King and his Consort. Also, it had been the best idea to keep an eye on the Originators and the Great One- not that those presences had been noticeable since their return. It was as if all the darkness had been sucked right back up into the Boxes, their seals holding it all inside. A rather nasty sensation of dread did linger though and the Sage disliked the sense of uncertainty that hovered around them all because of it.

Startled by the abrupt slide of fingers over one of his hands, he glanced down and found his hand being laced into his lover's, their fingers curled together and squeezed lovingly. Tipping his head back up, Murata found himself peering into that beloved face and the pair of worried azure eyes that regarded him.

"It's affecting everyone… isn't it?" The soldier asked softly, glancing around them at the faces of the priestesses and then at Ulrike, who had gone to Nicola's side to coo at El.

"Yes." The sage answered, his lips pressing into a thin, troubled line, wishing with all his heart it wasn't. He had spent so many lifetimes worrying, haunted… tormented by all those things he had promised four thousand years before to a dear friend.

"Should I steal you away for an hour or two?" A hot mouth tasted the skin of Murata's throat, nibbling and nipping his way to one ear, Yozak's tongue doing something incredibly naughty to it. "Chase away all your thoughts again?"

How tempting that always was and how grateful he was to have someone that could with just a few clever touches create the power to make Kenta's mind go blissfully blank. "How tempting that is…" He breathed out, his lips curling upwards into a small smile, his gaze nevertheless settling back onto El, Nicola and Ulrike. "However, I think it's probably best we both stay here, I think I would like to watch them for just a little while longer and remind myself once more why we fight so hard…"

Yozak squeezed Murata's captive hand, following his lover's gaze to little Ernst, feeling a spark of warmth fill his heart at the sight of the chirping little boy, with those wide brown eyes that looked out at the world with such curiosity and eagerness, without the weight of the past resting on his little shoulders. Smiling a little in understanding, they sat silently together side by side, their hands entwined, promising themselves that neither of them would ever give up the fight, no matter what it brought their way.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"Here... allow me." Strong hands gently reached down to lift the squirming Gabriele from where she was being held rather awkwardly by Wolfram, who immediately pouted at the fact that his new sister had been taken away from him.

"Oh?" Yuuri looked up from where he had been half leaning over Wolfram, having been rather entranced by the little girl, who was as strikingly beautiful as he had thought when he'd first seen her from the high windows of the Castle. His eyes widened at the rather expert way his husband lifted and cradled that tiny form, his large hands knowingly tucking the little dark head against his shoulder, bouncing her lightly. "_Conrart_..."

"Aww..." The soft affectionate croon escaped Conrart, his entire face softening with the new, deep love he had for his youngest sibling. Bouncing her lightly, he couldn't help but press a light kiss against the top of her raven curls. "How's that, Gabby?"

"Oh... wow." Wolfram flushed in mild embarrassment at just how his brother had rescued Gabriele before she had started to cry.

"You know, she seems to have taken to you awfully fast, Conrart." His words, however, couldn't convey the depth of his affection for his husband seeing him like that, comfortable and utterly relaxed. He couldn't help but imagine what it might have been like if they were able to have a child of their own-one that would have called this gentle Prince _papa_. "I'm amazed at how comfortable you are with her."

"Yeah," The blond youth chimed in, Wolfram gawking at Conrart soothe the baby as well. "Now that you mention it."

"You do remember I used to look after you when you were a baby, _Wolfie_." A slightly cheeky grin curved across that sensual mouth as Conrart rubbed his cheek against the softness of his sister's fine curls.

"_**Huh?**_" It was a positive _squeak_.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember that you were there for his birth, weren't you, love?" Yuuri joined in, reaching out to ruffle Wolfram's hair as the young man scowled at the both of them for daring to tease him. Yuuri couldn't help but notice a difference in Wolfram since their return, a change he couldn't put his finger on. It was as though there was a new spark of happiness within the now second youngest of Lady Cecilie's brood, Yuuri knew without a doubt that recent events had left a lasting impact upon everyone...the problem was that Yuuri didn't know just how they had affected Wolfram.

"That's right," Conrart replied thoughtfully. "Our mother is an extremely loving person but she used to have a rather peculiar way of showing it." They both watched Wolfram turn the exact shade of a tomato, from nose to ears. "So that's how I ended up taking care of Wolfram."

Yuuri's face immediately paled as memories of his own mother and his earliest years-which revolved around him being dressed up as a little girl. He had never looked at dresses the same way since he had been paraded around in the various frilly concoctions that his mother could name off by heart.

_"Oh, Yuu-Chan, you look adorable! Okay, let's try this blue one piece with the ribbon tie or the pink taffeta... but the red one is nice too... What are we going to do? I can't make up my mind!" _

His cheeks positively burned from the thought of once more being dressed up as if he were indeed a girl. He had a feeling if Wolfram had been in the same situation, his brother-in-law would have rather enjoyed the attention and the opportunity to dress up. A pang of longing struck him hard and fast to the heart, reminding him painfully of the length of time he had been away from his parents and his brother. It had taken him a long time to see exactly what had been so difficult for Shori to accept about him. He hoped that there would come a day when he could return and hopefully talk to them once more... tell his brother of the happiness he did know in amongst all the other emotions that ebbed and flowed around him day by day.

Warm lips suddenly touched against his own, a tender brush of sensual heat and the sweetness of true love. They lingered for a long heartbeat, a reassurance that he was never alone. A pair of silvery eyes sparkled back at him, Gabriele cooing softly between them, her wide green eyes blinking up at them with interest from where she was tucked into the crook of Conrart's arm.

"I am happy," He whispered to Conrart, earning himself a dashing grin from his prince. Clearing his throat, he glanced towards Wolfram. "Now that I think about it, my mother was a little peculiar about how she expressed her love."

"_Peculiar_ is certainly one way to put it." Wolfram rubbed his fingers back through his bright sunshine hair, his cheeks burning a little with memory. "Mother allowed me to pick my new father..."

"_**Celi?!**_"

Wolfram froze at the sound of Raven's startled and shocked voice from right behind him.

"You _didn't_."

A feminine sigh escaped from Cecilie as she carried a freshly warmed bottle in one hand. "He needed a father." She attempted to excuse her actions. "There were just so many options…" Cecilie attempted to protest, her cheeks flushing pink and actually looking a touch sheepish over some of her past. She had to admit when her children had spoken about her behaviour, now she could see with a new critical eye just how odd it had been. Her fingers fiddled with the edges of Raven's coat, wide green eyes peering up into her husband's inscrutable expression though she still carefully clutched the bottle for her daughter. "I didn't wish to be selfish in my choices."

A rush of jealousy sparked within Raven's heart, his hand lifted to curl lightly around the back of her hand, squeezing it and pressing it close to his heart. "I don't know what to think."

"I would say that maybe we should take it all with a tiny pinch of salt." Yuuri leaned in to tickle Gabby's stomach, getting a sleepy smile from the little girl still tucked into Conrart's protective arms. "Her past behaviour is… well…" _Not something, that should be taken into account now._ He was just glad that Raven didn't know about the fact that Cecilie had actually propositioned him too in a rather embarrassing first meeting. "Not the same as it would be now."

Raven's heart couldn't help but pound a little just beneath his breastbone, aware of just how many times he had almost lost Cecilie forever to someone else. So much time had already been lost between them, so many days, which could have been spent together, happiness he could have lost without the assistance of many to nudge them towards the acceptance of their love.

"I wouldn't change it though." Cecilie suddenly remarked, leaning up to press a soft kiss against her husband's lips before stepping over to her second eldest child and gazing into his rich silver eyes. Her eyes drifted from the face of her son down to the adorable face of her daughter, accepting the tender weight of her before offering the sleepy little girl the bottle she had been carrying with her. "As much as I miss all the days I could have had, I could never regret the ones that I did have. They brought me such wonderful surprises."

Yuuri pressed against Conrart's side, dropping a kiss against one strong shoulder and thanking fate for Celi's rather adventurous love life as it had brought three amazing people into this new world of his. Life without Conrart was not one he ever wished to consider again. Squeezing a strong arm lightly, he relaxed when he was wrapped up in an embrace, drawn into the heat of his lover's body, as fingers trailing up and down his side tenderly.

Raven felt his heart melt at the sight of his wife cradling their daughter. "At least now she has someone to dress up to her heart's content and of the appropriate gender."

Dark brows suddenly rose right up to Yuuri's hairline at that statement. "Now _that's_ a loaded statement."

Now it was Raven's turn to flush a cherry red, his eyes dropping to the face of his daughter and staying there.

"She didn't..." Conrart choked a little.

_**Silence**_.

"Oh... my..."

Yuuri shuddered in complete understanding of exactly what Raven had experienced at the hands of the woman in his life. His eyes flickered towards Cecilie when she turned rather speculative eyes across the entire lot of them, a glint of mischief and terrible inspiration sparking on her face.

"Oh, the things I could do." She breathed out with a sigh, a dreamy smile tugging at her lips. "Raven always did look absolutely lovely in blue taffeta."

Every other person around her took a half step backwards and away from her, and Raven turned a rather startling shade of green at the thought of his wife somehow managing to convince him yet again to dress up in things that did not bear thinking about.

"But you would look fabulous..." She protested, though she looked quite cheery over the whole thing.

"I'm glad you're happy, Mother." Wolfram spoke up, his cheeks flushing a delicate pink, remembering the times his mother had indeed cornered him too into wearing the frilliest things she could possibly find. It was a moment of relief from some of the other things that were weighing heavily on his mind.

His heart couldn't help but feel like it was been squeezed within a vice, knowing that maybe in some other life... he might have known this kind of happiness himself. While, he was glad to know that his brother and brother-in-law had returned safely, he couldn't help but feel a touch useless, as if the entire world was moving so quickly past him that he was being left behind. It was just like before. Just like during the war and he was once again relegated to remaining in the castle, while others protected their people and earned their place beside the Maou and his Consort. "You always deserved to be happy, even though you went around the long way to find it."

Everyone turned towards Wolfram, various pairs of eyes watching him, practically pinning him to the spot.

Wolfram flashed them a grin, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Wolfie?" Cecilie questioned softly, surprised by the abrupt change in her son's entire demeanour. "_Wolfie_...?"

"It's nothing." He attempted to reassure her.

Before anyone could say more, Gisela appeared and called to them that it was time for them all to head off to the Tomb of the Great One and prepare for the ceremony. However, no one could shake the awareness that something was up with Wolfram.

* * *

><p>"We have received a lot of information from our reconnaissance parties concerning the <em>Bottom of the Mirror<em>. What we have heard so far has been promising." Hube straightened from where he was leaning over the map on the table in front of them, and glanced at his cousin, Gwendal Von Voltaire, his expression thoughtful. His mouth was lined with a touch of strain, for he was frustrated at having no concrete answers to give to the Chief of State, or directly to the Maou himself. "_But_..."

"But still no strong signs," Gwendal's fist slammed down upon the table, his knuckles white as he shared in Hube's disappointment. For all the rumours and suggestions of a possible location, nothing was concrete, or carried the tell-tale signs that most had come to associate with the presence of a Forbidden Box.

Hube's fingers rubbed lightly at his left eye, touching the unmarked skin, remembering the one time he had been in direct contact with a Box. His throat worked, his lips pressing into a tense white line. "It is frustrating." The dark-haired Demon Tribesman sank down into a chair pulled out from the table, his shoulders sagging. "To know that something that can cause such horrendous suffering is out there, somewhere still within the reach of Belar."

He could only hope that his frustration wouldn't bleed into the time he spent with his family, his parent's home had become the hub of his duties, the King having arranged it so that he would not be taken away from his wife or his son for long periods of time. Both were too precious to him, and he had already missed so much of El's growth in the few weeks he had been away with the King on this mission. However, he couldn't regret his actions, no matter how much his heart and soul ached to be near his family, he had been able to serve the Maou and his Prince.

Gwendal regarded the last member of their little group, the broad shouldered man propped up against one wall, looking more perturbed than even Geigen Huber. He couldn't imagine just what it must be like to be walking around in Von Grantz's skin, especially with the fact that the man was soon meant to be having his wedding, all the while knowing of what might be coming so rapidly towards them. The man looked a little haunted, deep lines having etched themselves into the harsh planes of that handsome face.

This was the second time Adalbert Von Grantz's wedding had been planned for a time of tension and uncertainties, however, Gwendal couldn't help but feel that it was all the more difficult knowing that he truly had found his true love in the person of Gisela. None of that diminished the pain and overwhelming loss that had come with Julia's death.

"Nothing to report since the last message from my _contacts_." Adalbert's informants were far more of a seedier and criminal variety than the honest soldiers and spies that Lord Geigen Huber commanded. "Just a lot of noise going on from Big Cimaron, calls for weapons, mercenaries... it sounds like Belar's armies are truly starting to desert him in full force. He doesn't dare pull in soldiers from the outer provinces, knowing they are more likely to be rebels than loyal men. I give it only a few months before he's completely overthrown or assassinated, so he's more than likely to give us hell before then."

"Keep your ear to the ground, report everything, I don't care how minor..." Gwendal stared down at the map before him, feeling a sickening knot coil tight around his gut. "We need to stay on top of this."

His face paled as he thought about his mother and the bright happiness that seemed to radiate from her whenever he saw her. He knew what another war would cost them, the caustic bile burned the back of his throat as he remembered the ones that had come before. The Chief of State wished to curse himself for his own foolishness of only two years before. He'd been bent upon another war, his own arrogance blinding him to the consequences previous conflicts had had upon his entire family and all of those he cared about.

Gwendal could only plan as he always did, and hope that between them all it would be enough. It would be his duty to update the King later that evening after the Ceremony and he could only hope that his news wouldn't destroy the fragile happiness of this particular day.

"Where is Lord Von Christ? I thought he would be attending this meeting." Hube's brows lifted as he glanced about their small group, knowing from their last meeting aboard ship that Gunter would have been seeking any answers he could in the various records contained within both the Covenant Castle library, and in the records held in the Tomb. "It is unlike him to miss an important meeting."

Gwendal's entire face seemed to twitch, his pallor ghostly, his expression filled with true torment. The brow above his left eye twitched, his body language speaking of someone who had endured intolerable things for far too long. "He has volunteered to assist Lady Anissina in the _**perfecting**_ of her..."

As if conjured but by the mere mention of her name, a horrified wail rang through the entire castle, one that all recognised within a moment. A group wide twinge of both guilt and relief spiralled through the three men and they immediately fell silent on the subject of Gunter and his current predicament as guinea pig for one of Anissina's harebrained schemes-which most often turned only produced new scorch marks on the walls of the castle.

No one thought of rescuing poor Gunter, knowing that the risk of being the _replacement_ was far too high.

* * *

><p><strong>The Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The sounds of music and celebration wafted through the halls of the Tomb, the voices of friends and guests bouncing through the corridors from the party that seemed to have sprung up at the end of the Birthing Ceremony. Gisela would have usually relished being able to mingle, to enjoy a little celebration of something joyous, but her world had been shaken and joy was the last thing she felt entitled to feel. The merriment was almost sickening to her stomach.

Dirty pieces of linen and other used medical supplies were dropped into a large bucket, Gisela too tired to even contemplate sorting through the various items in order to see if they were reusable. The day had been long, her previous joy over this celebration having been swallowed up by the events of the morning. She couldn't remember just how many infants she and her staff had examined, how many slightly anxious faces peered back at her as she reassured them all was well. Her mind failed to go beyond the simple need to clean up and return to the Castle and just sleep. She wanted to forget this entire day, to sweep it away into the depths of her memory for it to never again be recalled. Picking up one of the washbowls she had been using, the once-lukewarm water sloshed back and forth over the edges, dripping coldly onto the back of her hands, which shook with her emotional and physical fatigue.

A soft knock on the door startled her, her body jerking fiercely, the bowl dropped from her grip and shattering like the teacup had against the hard floor. Dirty water sloshed across the stone floor and over her boots, creating quite the puddle about her. Her already frayed nerves jangled, pushing her just a little closer towards another emotional break. Dropping down into a crouch, Gisela immediately began to reach for the large shards of broken crockery that littered the floor.

"Gisela _stop!_"

A familiar and beloved voice attempted to warn her, but it was too late, Gisela's fingers closed around the largest broken shard. The razor sharp edges bit into her skin, causing her to yelp and flinch back while sparks of pain danced up her arm. Unbalanced by her own motions, she almost ended up flopping backwards right into the puddle surrounding her, but a strong arm caught her around the waist, drawing her away from the mess she had made and right onto the raised knee of Adalbert Von Grantz.

Her sliced fingertips were lifted to warm lips, her protests dying in her throat as he pressed soft kisses to them, the tingling spark of Adalbert's magic flickering over them. Cradling her, he healed her cuts. It was the first time she had seen him do that beyond the one or two lessons she had insisted he at least take with her in order to make sure he could use what small healing ability he did possess. Her fiancé had grumbled and huffed over it, but he had listened and clearly learned what she had tried to teach him.

"I'm sorry, Gisela." Adalbert breathed against her emerald locks, burying his nose into the softness, not caring if they were in a rather awkward and uncomfortable position, him half-kneeling and her settled there on the upraised limb. "I didn't mean to startle you, Love. I just thought I could give you a hand." Worry creased his brow as he studied her pale, stressed features, immediately drawing her closer still. "Gisela? "What's the matter?"

Hesitating, he was lifted his free hand to gingerly brush loose strands away from her eyes, gazing into them uncertainly. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to come to see you earlier today... Security for this entire thing has been a nightmare. Forgive me?" He pleaded gruffly.

Words clogged in her throat, an ice-cold fear settling close against her heart, spreading outwards to clamp around her roiling stomach. All Gisela could think of was the terror she had racing through her at the thought of losing him. _Would he believe her?_ _Would he believe what she had seen was real or believe it to be the pressure of the last few months finally getting to her? _

_Would Julia's name shatter the love she had found with Adalbert? Would it fracture apart her dreams ?_ He had loved her friend for decades, leaving behind everything that he had known because of what had happened before, during, and after Julia's death. Julia had been Adalbert's entire world... he had loved her so very much. _What would happen if Julia did come back?_ Even though she knew, it was impossible, that her mentor's soul was within the Maou... she couldn't help but be terrified of all the possibilities and those seemingly impossible scenarios that haunted her mind.

Life without Adalbert was not something she could contemplate. She could feel fabric beneath her clenched fingers, her hand having fisted into his thick coat, her fingers white and quivering.

Tender little kisses fluttered along the length of Gisela's cheekbone, lips ghosting over that trembling mouth. Adalbert dropped backwards smoothly, sitting back against the nearest wall and drawing the shivering weight of his fiancée close against him, he refused to allow her to escape his embrace and held her close. "Talk to me," He whispered into one delicate ear, his hands rubbing softly over her shoulders, attempting to warm her against wave of shivering that was making her entire form tremble so much. "_Please_."

The words caught in her throat for a moment, her heart clinging desperately to the reassurance of his touch. "I saw her."

Both blond brows raised slightly, Adalbert attempting to work out exactly what 'her' Gisela was referring to. "Lady Cecilie?"

"_No_." Gisela's response was immediately, her wide green eyes turning on Adalbert, ashen and grave. "_Julia_."

Adalbert's jaw dropped, eyes fixed on that beautiful face before him and knowing that this was no joke. Gisela was never one to make things up, or lie to him over anything. "Wh...en?" The word came out half-strangled.

"This morning..." Her hands fluttered against the broad chest of her beloved, fingertips tingling still from the recent healing. "I... I was on my own and I was thinking about her and... you... and... she was just _**there**_. As if... the last two decades hadn't happened... as if... it was another morning... the two of us... working together... She... didn't even seem to realise that she was... dead."

Both fell silent.

The Captain of the Royal Guard attempted to absorb all he had just been told.

"She talked about you."

Adalbert's face expressed his shock and a large dose of concern. "Are you all right though?" Attempting to ignore the thousands of questions that wormed their way upwards into his thoughts, he focused on the woman tucked into his lap, seeing the painful lines of strain on every feature. "Gisela... are _you_ all right?"

For a moment, she hesitated, lifting her face to gaze into Adalbert's, attempting to read his emotions. Opening her mouth again, sound refused once more to come out, her heart clogging them up and preventing them from leaving her throat. She couldn't tell what was happening behind those cerulean eyes. Struggling to clear her throat, Gisela finally managed a, "I'm not..."

"I believe you." Adalbert suddenly whispered, pressing his lips against her forehead and tucking her so close that she seemed to become a part of him. The Captain shrugged out of his thick coat and wrapped the long woollen length of it around her body, stroking a hand against her shoulders and back, desiring for nothing more than to ensure that Gisela was soothed and that she truly knew that he did believe her whole-heartedly. "I truly do, Gisela."

Relief and something else stirred within her at that, her head dropping against one strong shoulder, as she accepted that they were both in the same rather odd boat. It was as if a rabid Goala was clinging to the ceiling of the room, which they were both aware of and were just waiting for it to drop so everything could go to hell.

"I'm not... sure what to do..." She admitted, her voice half muffled by the fabric of his shirt. "I don't know how I'm supposed to react. I just know I don't want to lose you, Adal. The thought of... of losing you is..."

"You won't lose me." He reassured her firmly. "I promise nothing could ever make me change my mind about my desire to marry you. However, if something like this... or something even remotely troubling happens... you will come find me. There is nothing in the world I could be doing that would ever prevent me from doing everything I can to ensure that you're safe and happy." Both the Maou and his Consort would not hold it against Adalbert, especially not when they knew just how much Gisela cared for him and had made his life a happy one after so many years of bone-numbing emotional pain. She was a gift from the heavens and he thanked the Great One every day that he had a chance to love her.

"But..."

"No buts." Tucking a finger beneath her chin, he tipped her head up, leaning down to press a heated kiss against her lips, acknowledging in that moment that both of them carried enough emotional issues attached to the name _Julia_... to more than likely sink the largest ship in the Royal Navy. "No _ifs_ **or** buts. I know... I know... there is a lot still left unsaid but, you are my happiness, Gisela. You are the one I love."

Swallowing convulsively, her eyes darted across that gorgeous face, lips still tingling from that heated kiss, the taste of him still lingering. "I love you."

"I know... I come with a cart worth of baggage." Adalbert almost wished to laugh at himself for his own statement, emotional issues not something he was quite comfortable talking about when it was him.

"A true understatement if ever I heard one." Gisela felt herself smiling just a little while she attempted to tease him. "But... I am probably just as bad."

"Very true," The man agreed.

Abruptly he found himself yelping when a surprisingly strong hand swatted against his shoulder, a sheepish look crossing his face as he was given a short glare that could make any grown soldier positively tremble in their boots. However, his heart picked up its beat at the glimpse of a smile tugging at her lips again, one a little closer to how it should be and it made him smile in turn, only to get himself swatted again for daring to think that he was forgiven.

"We'll get through this." He promised her again, touching a single fingertip to her velvety soft lips, caressing across them tenderly. "No matter what it takes, we will get through this."

She believed him whole-heartedly.

* * *

><p><strong>Throne room, Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Candlelight glistened across the fine sheen of water that covered golden skin, adding to the sensuousness of the scene unfolding before the Maou. His breath was caught somewhere in his throat, almost choking him as his jaw dropped and hung somewhere near the floor. His body immediately pushed backwards, slamming shut the door and he immediately twisted the key that was blissfully already in the lock.

Conrart Weller was seated upon Yuuri's throne, the Consort's crown perched upon the wild, wet locks of chestnut brown framing that handsome face, clinging to high cheekbones and curling sensuously near that generous mouth... and the rather smug smirk curving those fine lips. The long, fur-lined cloak was clasped at the man's collarbones, the dark folds accentuating the lines of the man's figure_. The nude... the damp... nude..._

Yuuri's brain positively threatened to explode from the sight that greeted him after the long meeting he had just had with Gwendal. He'd wanted to be informed of what new information that had arrived from all corners of their Kingdom, and it had ended up being a far longer meeting than planned when Gunter had come in with a half dozen pertinent books...

The moment his lover shifted, Yuuri immediately forgot everything that had been filling his thoughts, for the long legs that had been folded over the arm of the large throne swung around to the front and parted, revealing the delicious state of arousal his husband was currently experiencing. Yuuri's body responded in kind; his shaft stirring to painful fullness within the tight confines of his pants, throbbing in thunderous approval of the true perfection of this seductive man. The fine scars etched into all that glorious golden skin only added to the dangerous promise of the usually sweet-natured and chivalrous Knight was exuding. This moment was a vital reminder of the man Conrart was-that wild, passionate man hid beneath the surface- one that fearlessly claimed exactly what he wanted.

"Oh... dear... _Gods!" _Yuuri breathed out harshly, leaning back against the large throne room doors, his throat uncommonly dry... even though he could have sworn he was drooling. "**Conrart!**"

"I didn't have enough time to dress, Majesty." Sensual lips quirked, challenging Yuuri to argue with him, that strong jaw tilting in arrogant haughtiness. "I didn't even have time to dry myself properly, not since I received your message during my bath. You can be so _demanding_."

"It appears you had time for other things though..." The Maou attempted to think of something... _anything_... other than that glorious form perched so _lewdly_ upon his throne. "My letter..." He had written a short note to his beloved and set it off with one of the maids, when she'd conveniently brought in tea to himself and Gwendal. It had been a simple missive speaking of how he missed Conrart even though they had only been parted for a few hours.

"Oh, you mean _this_?" A callused hand dropped down to curl around the proud erection jutting erotically up from between his thighs, gripping the base firmly, he stroked upwards, a thumb circling the rosy head of that pulsing cock. "Well I had to do _something_, your message was an urgent one, and then I was left here waiting for you. I was **bored**."

"What did you do while I was delayed?" Yuuri ventured to ask.

A dangerous smile played across that full mouth, silver eyes almost pewter with ferocious hunger. "_Come here_ and I might just show you."

"You'll eat me alive if I go anywhere near you."

Conrart dropped his chin down onto one palm, his elbow perched on the arm of the throne. "That _is_ the plan, Majesty. Although... who **eats** whom is a matter for me to decide."

Yuuri's eyes couldn't help but linger on that throbbing shaft being stroked slowly by a clever hand. Heat pooled in all those intimate places within him, a whimper sounding from somewhere in the back of his throat. His feet seemed fixed to the spot, eyes glued to the vision of his husband's hands moving over damp fully aroused flesh.

"Come here, Yuuri," The man demanded silkily, a single digit beckoning. "_**Come**_."

The Maou could not resist, not even for a second. Step after step, he approached that reclining form, his breath catching wildly in his throat. It was almost painful to walk, his body so hard and aching that he moaned helplessly.

Gaining the stairs that led up to the throat, his body continued on, that large hand stretched out to him coaxing him along. The moment he was in reach, his beloved's hand caught his chin and dragged him forwards and into a blistering kiss that made his toes curl. A tongue thrust between his lips, his knees gave out beneath him and he ended up on his knees between his lover's thighs. The sudden shift in angle only deepened the melding of their mouths, giving his lover complete and unreserved access to the inside of his mouth. His beloved's palm cupped the back of his head, giving Conrart complete control and it was absolute ecstasy for Yuuri. His vision blurred, his lips throbbing from the nips of his lover's teeth as he was kissed repeatedly, driving him into pure submission beneath his lover's hands. He went willingly to his erotic doom, so willingly to the promise of that devouring mouth upon his own.

Gasping for air, Yuuri couldn't even think beyond the next kiss, his whimpered pleas falling on deaf ears as Conrart straightened, pulling back from him. However, that hand remained against his nape, stroking lightly against the skin, dipping below his collar of his shirt. It was probably the only thing holding him upright, anchoring him to the spot so that he didn't fly apart.

Dark eyes blinked helplessly up at Conrart, his tongue touching lightly against his kiss-bruised lower lip. "..._Please_..."

"Please, what?" The man smirked, the startling thrill of authority tickling down the length of his spine.

"More...!"

"You need to earn it first, considering how long I was waiting for you."

Yuuri's eyes dipped downwards from Conrart's face, trailing down the gorgeous length of golden skin to the sight of that throbbing shaft that made him suddenly very, very hungry. The hand at the nape of his neck applied only a little pressure and his knees folded beneath him as he sank willingly to the soft carpet before this dangerous, sexy man. A shiver jolted down his spine, his lips parting as he leaned in between those lazily spreading thighs and something blazingly hot touched against his lips. Salty dampness was left behind and Yuuri eagerly licked it up.

Dark strands of hair flopped over his brow, his entire body shuddering with the nervous heat that pooled in his stomach when those strong, calloused fingers tightened just a little in his hair.

_"You belong to me and it's about time I reminded you of that fact." _

It was a sexy rumbling growl in his ears, his lips parted to respond to it, to say something when...

That throbbing shaft suddenly slipped between his lips before he could say a word, and Yuuri quieted instantly as salty skin filled his mouth and left him trembling. His hands lifted, longing to touch all the rest of that glorious skin, while he relaxed his throat, swallowing down all he could as he gave into his lover's demanding touch. His fingertips were just about to brush against the damp skin of his lover's thighs when he heard that thunderous growl once more.

"Only with your mouth," Conrart demanded fiercely.

Pleasure spiralled along every nerve ending Conrart Weller possessed as that clever mouth suddenly turned on him, his 'tamed' lover twisting the entire situation around with the scrape of blunt teeth over his entire length, and the brush of a tongue knowingly across the head. A long groan was dragged from between his lips, his digits tightening in those dark locks as he grew more desperate to keep his lover there. Yuuri's mouth had always been positively sinful. Now Conrart had to fight to get control of himself as a fierce suction was suddenly formed around his shaft, while his beloved began to work him in a slow... _far too slow_ rhythm.

Below him, he saw how Yuuri's fingers were curled into fists by his sides, and then how one hand began moving around to where his husband's own shaft was hard within his pants, trapped behind the layers of dark fabric.

"Don't you dare touch yourself!"

A moan of frustration came from deep within Yuuri; the vibrations added another sensual layer to Conrart's pleasure, making his shaft jerk sharply burying it all the way to the base between those greedy lips.

Conrart drove upwards into that willing wetness, holding his lover still as he claimed that dangerously erotic mouth for his own. He watched his lover's rich obsidian eyes begin to blur while the scene played out between them, so close to cracking. His entire body was trembling with the ferocity of his need. The Prince Consort was delighted by the way Yuuri couldn't seem to keep still, slender hips squirming and wiggling, desperate to get any kind of friction for his own undoubtedly painfully full shaft. The soldier didn't want to come just yet, but Yuuri's mouth was making it near impossible to escape that sensual fate.

Bending over his lover and leaning forwards, a large hand suddenly shot downwards, gripping Yuuri's quivering shaft possessively through his formal uniform and squeezing hard. Conrart pressed his fingers just to the right spot behind his lover's sac to touch the hypersensitive perineum, triggering off his lover's climax with the unexpected touch and the rough friction of the fabric over all that contained flesh.

The Maou screamed, his lover's shaft driving all the way inside his mouth, muffling the sound as Yuuri spilled himself helplessly, trapped by the powerful hands that were holding him captive.

It took all Conrart's will power to keep from following his lover over that edge, to plunge into the white-hot heat that his lover's mouth promised him, even as Yuuri half sagged against his knee, mouth slipping from his shaft, tiny flickers of pleasure still making those slender limbs twitch. Yuuri was still half-hard beneath his palm and moaned softly when his fingers brushed across that bulge through the damp fabric.

"Con...rart..." Yuuri whimpered at him, dark eyes blinking up at him from where his lover's head rested against his thigh, lips pink and slightly swollen.

Releasing his lover's twitching shaft, he leaned backwards lazily, his own body aching painfully from the denied pleasure of release. "Stand up." He commanded sharply.

Wobbly legs could barely hold him up when Yuuri slowly struggled up onto his feet. Still fully clothed, his heart was pounding when his eyes flickered from his lover's flushed face all the way down to that wet shaft standing proudly up from between those muscular thighs, the head of it dark and straining towards him.

_"Turn around." _

Yuuri hesitated for a moment, his heart pounding in his ears as he felt himself stiffen in his trousers all over again at the sound of that tone being directed at him.

"I said _**turn around**_." It was a rumbling purr, silver eyes steely, demanding Yuuri's obedience. "Do not make me repeat myself again."

Slowly he turned himself around, feeling like at any moment his body would spontaneously combust and he would embarrass himself again. His breaths came in pants, whimpers escaping him with every slide of fabric against his aching and all too sensitive shaft.

"Strip."

Obsidian eyes widened, while he stared out at his throne room, suddenly very aware of exactly where they were and how easy it was for someone to unlock those doors and see them. Yuuri's lips parted to voice a protest, colour flooding his cheeks and burning across his skin. Hot breath fanned against his ear, distracting him utterly, sending a shiver rushing down his spine.

"_**Strip**_."

Immediately Yuuri's shaking hands dropped down to his belt, fumbling with the buckle until he finally managed to slip it free. He dared not close his eyes, knowing that if he did, he would all too accurately be able to picture the man behind him, watching him with that mercurial gaze. Loosened, his pants slid down his hips and legs to pool over his booted feet. Leaning over in order to begin the process of unlacing his boots to remove them, he had to spread his thighs to give him balance and suddenly Yuuri was very aware of the extremely vulnerable position he was in, his lover merely two feet behind him.

That demanding mouth was abruptly pressed against the most intimate place on his body, a tongue thrusting relentlessly inside of him as calloused hand wrapped around his shaft, gripping it tightly and holding him up as he was literally devoured from the outside in. He couldn't move with his body half bowed and his thighs spread apart in a desperate bid to keep his balance, just giving that mouth all the more room to drive even more deeply with him. Hoarse cries were torn from his throat when that slick organ pressed against his sweetspot, making him almost scream in pleasure if his lover's free hand hadn't covered his mouth to silence it. Conrart began to hum softly, the vibrations tingling across sensitive nerve endings.

Conrart's free hand left Yuuri's lips and slid up beneath his shirt, a thumb and forefinger pinching a warm nipple hard, before rubbing fierce circles against it until it was red and positively aching. His husband repeated the action, and the cotton weave of the garment slid against them, tormenting Yuuri until he felt he would come apart at the seams from all that was being done to him.

Dragged backwards by the hand wrapped around his length, he stumbled awkwardly, his hands flailing and managing to catch the arms of his throne. Something throbbing pressed into his crease and like a fiery brand it throbbed there, marking him with every pulse. His arms quivered with the strain of keeping himself up, knowing that if he let go, he would impale himself on his lover's shaft. Somehow, his lover was shoving his boots off his feet, his pants sliding off with one well placed shove, making Yuuri's balance all the more precarious. Conrart's hand suddenly abandoned his throbbing nipples, and slipped between his thighs, drawing soft little lines up along the sensitive skin inside of them.

_And then Yuuri's body failed him. _

With a scream, Yuuri's grip slipped and he arched backwards onto his lover's shaft, which slid into his body fluidly, filling up and stretching him almost painfully wide. A strong hand curled around his wrists, trapping them together and lifting them over his head, while Conrart's hips drove upwards, slamming that burning shaft all the way up inside of him, blazing a path across his sweetspot.

He had no control at all, his body was being completely and utterly possessed, every jolt forcing his shaft through his lover's squeezing fingers, working him in a way he never had been before. Heated words were rasped into his ear, a sexual purr of all the things his husband was intending to do to him. Each word just added to the almost painful jolts of bliss that flashed up his spine with every driving thrust of his lover's shaft impaling him. For a moment his lover's hand slipped from his shaft, a whimper of protest slipping from his lips before that strong arm looped beneath his thigh, spreading them wider and also preventing him from slipping away before that hand returned to fiercely working his aching cock. Incredibly exposed, his body thrumming with the building pressure with him, he was dangerously close to exploding.

"Con...!" A pleading whimper finally managed to come out amidst the desperate little noises Yuuri was making. "Please! _Oh_... _Kami_... _PLEASE!_"

Driving his hips downwards as best he could, Yuuri's vision swirled as pleasure continued to race up along the entire length of his spine. It was an unbelievably sensual feeling, especially considering he was still half dressed and being made love to on his own throne. This was definitely going to colour every one of his thoughts for the next few months whenever he was in the throne room. The first rushing tingles of orgasm fluttered in his nerve endings, like butterflies dancing across every exposed inch of skin.

"You are mine." Conrart hissed into Yuuri's ear, biting lightly at the lobe and nuzzling his beloved's jaw. "_**Say it.**_"

Head spinning, his passage clenching hard around that penetrating length, desperate to keep it buried deep inside of him, he could barely make a response to that demand, beyond the rather naughty sound their bodies were making as slick flesh slid together in an erotic dance. A whimpering plea escaped him when a powerful hand clamped down on him again preventing him falling over that edge. His lover's thrust became rougher, harder, igniting every single nerve ending inside of him, setting that spot inside of him on fire.

"Say it and I'll let you come." It was a dangerously soft purr, the threat however was immediately obvious. Conrart was not about to let Yuuri find his climax until the Maou utterly surrendered.

With his leg tugged higher, shifting the angle of penetration, Yuuri positively _screamed_, his voice echoing licentiously through the vast highly decorated chamber. Head thrown back against a sturdy shoulder, his skin was slicked with sweat and the fabric of his shirt clung to his chaffed skin, driving him wild. His wrists fought against the hold on them, desperate to be free, desperate to pull away the hand clamped around his shaft, anything that would allow him his release.

"You...rs!" Choked out between kiss-bruised lips, Yuuri was rewarded instantaneously for his efforts. _"I... am... yo...urs!"_

Fingers unclenched and Yuuri spilled himself for a second time that evening, wailing his mate's name and clamping down around that throbbing shaft with clenching rings of muscle. Conrart followed him a second later, his hoarse shout mingling with his lover's while he pounded himself as deep as possible into that slick passage, filling his lover up with liquid heat. They soared together into the dizzying heights of ecstasy, floating in that blissful space before falling back down, spiralling into their own bodies.

Collapsing back against the throne, his head thumped back against the velvet and wood, Conrart easing his grip and releasing those slender wrists to wrap both arms around Yuuri to prevent the sexually wrung out Maou from sliding to the floor in a heap of quivering limbs. Yuuri's damp hair clung to Conrart's skin as his head rested back against his chest, and he could see that his husband was listening to the frantic pace of his heart.

A long moan slipped out from between Yuuri's lips while he remained impaled by his lover's slowly softening length, wiggling his hips in order to ensure it didn't slip out of him. Nothing could quite match this kind of experience, one that only this man could ever give him.

"Wow..." He breathed out, his lashes a pair of dark crests against his burning cheekbones. "I... don't think... I want to know where this particular fantasy came from, but please tell me... you have more of them..."

Conrart felt a smirk tugging at his lips, while his face dropped forwards in order to bury his nose into the dark strands of his lover's hair. "With you, Love, I always end up with more fantasies. Just watching you walking gives me dangerous ideas..." A possessive hand dropped down to one hip, stroking across the warm flesh, his thumb brushing lightly over the sensitive crease between groin and thigh while he did so, gaining himself a sensual shiver. "That sexy bottom of yours... and its damned swaying..."

The Maou found himself grinning ridiculously, pleased beyond measure by the compliment. For the first time in days, his mind was clear, his body relaxed and sensually wrung out. Somehow, his clever Prince had known exactly what he had needed and found a fine way of executing it. "Don't ever stop surprising me, Love."

"I promise to do all I can to ensure that I never run out of ideas." Pressing soft kisses over that beautiful face, he rubbed his nose softly into the curve of his lover's cheekbone, lips lingering on the corners of that smiling mouth. "I love you." He breathed out, cradling his beloved against him. "I will always love you, Yuuri Shibuya Weller."

The Maou whispered his own love back to this precious man, though he couldn't help but grin at the thought that Conrart would just need a bath all over again, but this time... a _shared_ one.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Sleepy murmurs escaped the tiny form of Gabriele Von Spitzweg, her emerald green eyes half closed, fine black lashes touching rosy cheeks. The infant had finally quieted, her earlier restlessness finally abating for the first time since she had awoken earlier that afternoon. The stresses of travel and the bustle of the Birthing Ceremony had been too much for the young heir and had left both parents completely frazzled. Raven had ended up slumped in a chair by the fire, too exhausted to even remove his boots or consider going to bed.

Cecilie touched her fingertips ever so gently to the fine dusting of black curls on her daughter's head, her eyes turning ever so slightly to look down upon her child's face with wonder and the wash of love she had felt for each of her four children in turn.

It hadn't been, however, until Gabriele had come into her life that she had realised all the mistakes she had made in the past. Her position as Queen had stolen so much from her, so much of the life she should have had with her children. Yet, each in their own way had assured her this very day that she was loved and they were only glad to see her finally married to someone who gifted her with a steady shoulder and the kind of love she had always craved. He was her guide, her companion and a man who could always be depended upon to offer her extremely good advice when it came to ruling and managing her territories of Spitzweg.

Inching her way back towards the doorway she had could out of, she lightly pushed it open a crack, peering in through in order to catch a glimpse of her husband. His dark head lolled to one side against the winged back of the chair, darling strands fluttering against his lips with every exhausted breath. Yet, even in his fatigue, every line on Raven's face etched with contentment, that of a man whose world was _complete_.

"I think even tired... your Papa is happy." Celi murmured to her daughter, pressing a light kiss against the dark curls.

_How in the world had she become so lucky? _A home, her husband and her children, all safe and sound, it was truly a blessing, especially during the recent months of high stress on all of them. She knew, however, like twenty years before that their world was slowly beginning to tilt once more, this small moment of happiness one that could quickly be overcome once more by the volatile situation that surrounded them on all sides.

Gazing down into her daughter's sleepy face, her cheek dropped down onto the top of hers, cradling her close and promising herself in that moment that she would do everything she could to protect and support all those that she loved.

"I won't be as I was before." She promised her Gabriele. "I won't hide, I won't run... I'll stand and fight if I have to." Her head tipped up to gaze at the portrait that hung on the wall just by the door to their chambers, a wistful smile tugging at her lips. "I hope that wherever you are, my friend... you'll help watch over them all."

Quietly she slipped back into her chambers, gently shutting the door behind her with a soft snick of the lock falling into place.

The frozen face of Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott seemed to gaze out upon the spot where the former Queen had been standing only a moment before as if the painting's attention had been drawn there by the softly murmured words. Slowly they seemed to shift to gaze out through the large window at the flickering lights of the castle beyond the glass. Sightless eyes watched over the castle, seeing each twinkling candle extinguished one by one, allowing darkness to descend onto the castle grounds.

Down along the corridor, a faint iridescent blue radiance shimmered out from within the medical ward, spilling into the corridor. The faintest scrape of shoes against stone, the tinker of glass bottles against one another filled the yawning silence. A quietly hummed melody drifted through the quiet halls, ghostly... and painfully familiar.

* * *

><p><strong>Hehe, I rather enjoyed writing the ending of this chapter, some parts of it were just so yummy! I hoped you liked it too! :)<strong>


	43. Part 43: Phantoms

**Author's Note: I'm not dead. I swear I'm not! Or maybe I am and this is just a figment of everyone's imagination. This Chapter is based upon two episodes (probably why the thing ended up so god-damned long!) LOL Episode 44: The Phantom Girl and Episode 46: The Priestess In The Forest. As much as I would love to have added in Elizabeth's story, I didn't quite know how to work this all in. Though I'm actually willing to give it a crack if anyone can suggest a good way of working it into the main plot arc I will consider writing it. **

**Please enjoy this long belated chapter. **

* * *

><p><strong>Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Ken Murata took his time examining the newest of the arrived boxes, his lips pressing together as he slid his hands over the smooth wood, the spark of old magic leaving his fingertips tingling all over again. A furrow formed slowly between his brows, while he again circled the peculiar box, tracing out the spirally, flame-like designs that were etched in orange across the wood of the box. It was the right size, but it had an odd feel to it. Dark, burnt chocolate eyes lifted to the Maou's face and caught the same look of consideration upon Yuuri's face as the man examined the box in a way even Ken couldn't manage.

The Maou shook his head slightly, unable to determine if this was the Box they were looking for, or just one of the many other fakes they had been examining over the last two weeks.

Reaching forwards, Ken gripped the edge of the lid and tugged upwards. It came free easily and a wash of sulphur burned the inside of his nose just as he jerked back, shoving Yuuri away from the burst of scarlet flames that erupted out of the top of the box just as the lid slipped to the side. Each separate flame bore a pair of vibrant green eyes that stared at the gathering of Demons with interest, inferno-like maws suddenly opening with the intention of striking out at them.

A shimmering blue barrier flashed into life, wrapping around the raging serpentine creatures and collapsing inwards, forcing them back into their prison as Ken darted forwards and thrust the lid back over the box with an ominous _thump_ of wood against wood.

Everyone had taken a rather wary step backwards, clearly not about to trust the contents of any of the other boxes still to be studied this evening. This was not a task anyone of them relished, but so far, no one had backed out when it came time to scrutinize each to see if they had found what they were looking for.

"What was that all about?" Yuuri's dark brows rose high in question, while he watched the box rattle slightly, whatever it was inside attempted to escape the barrier formed by the closed box.

Anissina stood beside Gwendal, her expression thoughtful, before speaking up. "I'm certain it's a box, but it appears to be _cursed_ one. Perhaps it could be 'the Box of Voloog's Flames', but I never thought it existed."

"I think that's the phrase of the week." The Maou mused, giving Kenta's shoulder a warm squeeze, though he couldn't help but glance towards the very edges of the group and the man standing there, just where he would be illuminated by a number of candles. Fine lines of stress marked Yozak's face, the man's hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword, clearly anxious over the fact that it was his lover who was handling the Boxes.

"So then, does this mean it's not the 'The Bottom of the Mirror'?" Gwendal's features darkened, his large hands curling into fists at his sides over their inability thus far to make any headway in their search for the last of the four Forbidden Boxes.

"Your guess is as good as any." Ken replied softly.

"Oh, not again!" Wolfram huffed in irritation. "How many does that make now?"

"As much as I find myself wishing to agree with your sentiments, Wolfram," The Maou spoke up. "We are fortunate that so many of our allies are sending us boxes and understand the need we have to find the last Box so that we can finally neutralise them." Many Governments were very willing to scour their lands for anything that matched the description of the Bottom of the Mirror, knowing just how devastating a single Box could be if left uncontrolled with its seal slowly unravelling. "Though I must admit, even my patience is tested by the _variety_ of things found within the boxes we have been sent."

A visible shudder ran through the line of Wolfram's body, a hand lifting to his nose, Wolfram turned slightly green in remembrance of one of the less savoury boxes they had examined. "That 'Box of Odours' we got was... something awful."

"Patience," Conrart whispered softly, a hand lightly patted Wolfram between the shoulder blades before the Prince Consort dipped his head down to nuzzle a kiss in against the Maou's jaw. "Something long lost, is not easily recovered, Little Dragon."

"I know," The Maou smiled slightly, shaking his head a little. "But still..."

A rather familiar voice abruptly interrupted them all, the cry of _**'YOUR MAJESTY!'**_ could positively wake the dead with just how loud it was shouted.

Like a beacon in the darkness, Dacascos's head shone in the light of the candles, reminding the Maou of a lighthouse perched atop a skinny cliff above foaming waves.

"Dacascos," Yuuri greeted one of his most loyal soldiers, feeling his lips attempting to twitch upwards into a smile as the man came to a stop before him, panting hard and looking as if he was about to drop onto the hard stone floor.

"A carrier... pigeon... has arrived from... Lord Geigenhuber...!" The soldier wheezed out, "He and his men have discovered what they think may be the last Forbidden Box... 'The Bottom of the Mirror'!"

Yuuri couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope, especially considering the message had come from Griesela Geigenhuber, a man who was known not to make a fuss unless it was indeed something extremely important. _Maybe their luck was just about to change._

* * *

><p><strong>The Hatchet Tavern, The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom <strong>

The scents of cheap ale and greasy food lingered in the smoky air, adding to the dingy interior of the crowded tavern, which thrummed with energy despite its filth. Voices of encouragement and disbelief drowned out any conversations attempted by other patrons, and most eyes were fixed on the duelling pair seated at a central table. A sudden roar of disbelief split the air as victory was finally had and an arm was slammed down with an audible thump against solid wood.

"She did it!" It was a breathless statement of surprise and shock, the owner of the voice being jostled by those around him, as many of the half-drunk, betting patrons wished to see for themselves this unexpected victory by a stripling of a girl who looked too young to even enter a tavern.

"Is this for real?" A surly, drunken onlooker grumbled. Blood-shot eyes blinked rapidly at where the man's arm was pinned down against the scarred tabletop, the small hand of the girl still holding it in place. The drunk leaned against the edge of the bench-table, staring hard to assure himself that it had truly happened. With a rambling mutter of, '_there went all my money!',_ the man pushed himself away, staggering into several others too slow to get out of his way.

"Dammit all...!"

Bright, intelligent eyes sparked with delight at her quick win, eager for a more substantial challenge. "I did it!" She chirped, bubbling over with happiness. "C'mon, let's play some more! C'mon, who's next?"

Her former opponent jerked his hand away, wincing sharply as his wrist sent jolts of pain coiling up his arm. Incredulous, he stared at the mere waif of a girl, barely able to accept he truly had lost to her, much to his shame.

"Is she some kind of freak?!"

A murmur of agreement went out amongst the milling crowd.

The disquiet spread through the collection of ragged men at the brilliant smile of the youthful woman, whose bright eyes sparked with something more than just joy. It unnerved even those that had thought of challenging her next, making them recoil and rapidly re-estimate just how dangerous the girl might be.

A creak of floorboards and the grunting of several men shoved out of the way announced the arrival of a formidable giant created of a solid mix of lays of fat and raw muscle. Beady eyes stared down at the violet haired girl, his lips twisting into something close to a leer.

"I'll play with you next, little lady," The brute sneered, dislodging the man from across the table from her with a hard shove of his foot. "And I won't go easy on ya, just 'cuz you're a kid. I just love seeing the faces of cute girls with tears streamin' down!" His knuckles cracked as he readied himself for the challenge, while he settled himself down onto the groaning bench.

"Well, if that means you want to play with me." Her smile grew even wider, while her eyes flickered happily over the sheer size of her competition. "Then alright!"

Leaning forwards, her tiny, delicate hand slipped into the giant's, becoming utterly engulfed as her elbow pressed down into the table, anchoring herself in place. Her lips curled upwards, the childish amusement flickering for a moment before turning into something a little darker. The girl's gaze locked with the beefy giant's, two shards of amethyst that glittered within her pale face. Her fingers clenched harder around the man's, actually catching the subtle wince the man attempted to hide.

"Now then," The barkeeper's raspy voice rose over the babble. "Are you two all set?"

But before the giant could speak up, his fingers were squeezed even more tightly to the point of pain, silencing him.

"Ready..." The barkeep barked as a hush settled over the crowd. "Start!"

It was only a moment later when there was a powerful thump of flesh striking wood and the sharp _crack_ of bone splintering.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"So, where is it located?" Gwendal stood just behind Dacascos, peering over the man's shoulder at the map spread out across the conference table in his office.

"It's right here." A grey-gloved finger indicated an isolated area upon the map, which was a fair distance from many of the other more well travelled areas. "It's in a forest about three days ride from the Castle."

Anissina crossed her arms, lips curving downwards at the corners. "A desolate strip of land along the frontier where no one has lived since ancient times," The woman's voice was a low, almost haunting, whisper, "I could see how this location could certainly make a good hiding place for a Forbidden Box."

The lady's tone sent a chill creeping down Wolfram's spine and the blond visibly shivered, provoking a scowl out of him. "It's probably just another fake. Then it will end up being a rather colossal waste of time."

"So then we check it out first." Kenta remarked.

"I think it's best that Conrart and I investigate this." The Maou straightened as he gazed around at the various faces of his friends and family, his eyes flickering to linger on the face of Adalbert who had just stepped in through the door after finishing his rounds at the castle. "And that you remain at the Tomb." Eyes questioning, Yuuri was not about to order his friend to remain behind if he thought it best to accompany them, but he couldn't help but glance towards Yozak, who hovered like a shadow around Ken. "I know you would prefer to accompany us, but right now..."

Kenta stiffened a little, knowing the unspoken reason behind the request. Most of the people in this room still had unresolved issues when it came to Yozak. Forgiven the man might have been, but his actions were not _forgotten_. The sting was still there in the remembering. "Understood," He cast a pensive look towards Yozak, his lover's eyes not meeting his own, the tightness visible across the man's shoulders. "I'll look into it from my end, I'm certain there are a few more books in the library at the Tomb that I haven't investigated."

"It's still a waste of time," Wolfram huffed indignantly, blowing out a breath. "Just you wait, it will turn out to be a fake and we'll spend all our energy and resources on chasing something that doesn't even exist."

"I agree that this could be a waste of time," Yuuri responded, "But I can't help but think that just this once it's worth checking out."

In all honesty, the Maou desired a reason to leave the Castle, even for just a few days. Sensations skittered across his skin, a small shiver sliding down his spine. He couldn't help but admit that in recent days, he hadn't quite been feeling himself and Conrart had indicated as much. Yuuri decided in that moment it might just be a touch of claustrophobia, having been inside of the Castle walls for more than a few weeks.

Conrart's fingers brushed against the vulnerable nape of Yuuri's neck, his warm palm slipping downwards until it pressed against the small of Yuuri's back, aware of the vibrating tension that radiated out through the Maou's body. Concern flashed in those silver eyes, but he didn't speak a word, knowing that so many already in the room were aware of the silent undercurrent of tension and hidden stresses which had been spreading through the inhabitants of the castle, to the very ancient foundations of the building.

"I agree." Gwendal spoke for all of them, clearly wishing to be in on this new _adventure_. "It is advisable to investigate this particular site. I am familiar with the area..."

"Why do I have the feeling I will be _remaining_ behind?" Adalbert's gruff tone filled with exasperation and grudging acceptance of the inevitable. _It would be him this year, much to his __**delight**__._

His blue eyes narrowing on Gwendal, knowing that within the week the castle would be opening to the public to allow the populace to come before the Maou to have their cases and worries heard. Gwendal had be the one to deal with that particular task for most of his mother's later reign and the period between the War and the arrival of Yuuri Shibuya. Yuuri had been absent the last time it had occurred and again seemed to be escaping the _loathsome_ task, though Adalbert was oddly certain that the Maou had simply forgotten about the event with all that had happened in the castle.

"Would you?" Yuuri asked with relief, "I would feel better knowing that you are here, Adalbert. I know you will notice if anything is _off_ in the castle."

The fine lines between Adalbert's brows immediately increased, the vibrant azure gaze focusing on the Maou with concern. "What do you mean, Sire?" He didn't have the stomach to mention the fact that both he and his precious Gisela had witnessed the appearance of Suzannah Julia Von Wincott's ghost within the castle walls.

"It's nothing, honestly." Yuuri shook his head and offered Adalbert a wry smile. "..._Nothing_..."

Conrart's lips pressed into a hard line at his husband's words.

"Well, I'm going too." Wolfram insisted firmly, shattering the awkwardness of the situation with his statement. "I am definitely going this time. Everyone else seems to get to go on these _trips_, bar me."

"Well most of them involve boats... _rocking_... lots of open water." Yuuri chuckled softly, his features brightening with amusement. "All things you detest, dear brother-in-law."

Wolfram huffed, lips turning into a slight pout, colour darkening his pale cheeks. "_Still_."

"But, you are very welcome to join us this time. There are no oceans involved... but there is a _lake_."

The blonde's face immediately paled once more, looking slightly green around the metaphorical gills.

"I'm going!" Wolfram growled out, crossing his arms and glaring at the Maou. "And nothing you can say will prevent me from going."

"Good then."

* * *

><p><strong>The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

A long breath rushed out of Yuuri, while he stood beneath the open sky, a tender breeze teasing at his hair. A billion stars spread across the sky in a swirling band, bright against the navy velvet of the heavens. His arms stretched wide to welcome the night into his heart for he hadn't realised until this moment how he longed at times for the wilds. The Dragon was stirring from within him, a brilliant cauldron of conflagration that gathered low in his stomach and spread through his entire body in response.

With each deep breath of clean air, the earth and sky purified him of the insidious darkness that clung to the world he lived in day to day. It felt as if it were been sucked away, the Dragon's heat and flame burning all that remained within both his physical and spiritual forms. He hadn't realised just how it could invade his body without him being aware of its taint. The spirit of flame that dwelt within him blazed inside of him, spreading its wings and between one heartbeat and the next, the Dragon was beside him. His massive form a sensuous ripple of scales and iridescent wings illuminated by the silvery radiance of the moon that hovered overhead, just cresting over the horizon as he curled about Yuuri.

At times he forgot what he was, forgot that he was no longer simply himself. For as much as Covenant Castle was home, all of the land that he protected also felt like home, just as the sweetness of Conrart's presence remained woven into his heart and soul. Conrart was his anchor, the rock he clung to within the storm of all that made him up and spilled out from deep within him with each breath.

"I never realised just how much I am a part of this land." He murmured, uncertain what it was that had started him out into the darkness, far away enough from his friends and family to get just a touch of privacy. The Maou knew all that were in his party were well aware of the fact he was up here, more than likely several pairs of eyes were observing him even now. "How much... the shadows were getting to me..."

A low rumble echoed from deep within the Dragon's chest, when the massive head dropped down into view, Yuuri's own eyes dropping from the stars to meet the Dragon's burning stare.

"I've always been aware of it before..." He murmured softly, rubbing lightly over his heart, letting out a slightly shaken breath. "But I cannot deny what just happened... nor can I ignore..."

Somehow, those dark specks had found their way in, sliding between the emotional and magical armour he coiled around his heart and soul. It cut deep into his heart to know that he could no longer say that he was unaffected by it, that his ability to resist it was now compromised. The enemy was changing their method of attack, instead of a front on battle, they were laying siege at the gates and at every wall. Back at the Castle, before the celebrations for the Birthing Ceremony, Conrart had seen something during their interlude in the corridor. Whatever it was that had been there... had shaken his beloved to his core.

His foundations shifted, his reality once again tipping in a new direction.

A thumb rubbed unconsciously against the familiar pattern of his wedding band, his other hand reached out to press a callused palm against the curve of a scaled muzzle, tracing the hot scales with loving fingertips. The brands across his palms burnt as he made contact, a jolt of flame licking at his nerve endings in response.

Lips slid along the curve of Yuuri's throat in a sensual line of butterfly kisses, strong arms curling around the curve of Yuuri's waist. The man just behind Yuuri stepped into him, pressing up along the curve of the Maou's body, coiling about him, warming his body from behind. Inky lashes fluttered downwards, when callused palms drifted beneath his shirt, sliding across the quivering muscles of his stomach and tucking protectively around his hips, leaving no room between them. Hot breath teased the whirl of Yuuri's ear, setting his heart fluttering wildly within his chest.

"What are you doing out here... all alone...?"

"I'm not all alone," The Maou retorted thoughtfully.

"Alright, _Little Dragon_," Conrart replied with a rumbling chuckle that vibrated all the way through Yuuri's body sensuously. "What are you and your scaled companion doing out here?"

"We were contemplating the stars."

"You weren't tempted to fly away on me, were you?" The soldier's grip tightened incrementally about that slender body, pulling Yuuri into him, the quiet teasing hiding the silent fear the man felt at the thought of losing sight of the one he loved with all his being.

"I might be tempted to fly away _with_ you, my Prince."

Covering his beloved's arms with his own, he hugged them closer against him, in this one moment allowing everything that had been troubling his thoughts wash away. Breathing in the scent of the man, he dropped his head backwards against Conrart's collarbone, turning his head just enough to press his lips to the curve of the man's stubbled jaw. Long hair tickled lightly against his skin, the silky strands perfectly framing the strong features of his husband's face.

"When you're ready... will you talk to me...?" Conrart asked gently, even though he wished to demand the reasons why. Yuuri had seemed almost lost sincesince he had first seen Julia's reflection in the place of his beloved's he could not help but admit deep down in his soul that he, too, had been deeply disturbed by the incident; emotions been called to the surface that he would sooner things weren't meant to be brought out into the light, not in these troubled times. Memories were just that, memories… things… that were gone. "Won't you?"

"I promise." Yuuri whispered, eyes closing, inhaling deeply of the scent of his beloved, treasuring the sweetness of that rich spice that was unique to this precious man. "When… when I understand it myself…"

They stood together like that, curled about each other, the Dragon coiling protectively between them and the rest of the world. Neither of them truly seemed to notice the passing of time... nor did they need to, when they were together.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

A human snake coiled its way through the front gates of the Castle, a living, chattering and never ending spiral of people that would have made anyone cringe to consider even half their number.

Closer to the office of the King, several of the maids stood with small paper tickets clutched in their hands, their jovial expressions fixed onto their faces. No one could quite believe the number that had actually turned up this year. However, it wasn't the Maou who was handling this particular task, for the man in question was nowhere even near the Castle, nor were many of the Nobles that served him. It was the most unlikely of people that was handling each case.

"Okay, get your numbers here!" A maid called to the throng, holding up a paper ticket, one from the many slightly crushed ones she carried with her. Her gaze however couldn't remain fixed on the people before her, but instead glanced nervously towards the open doors at the end of the hall with almost near terror.

_"No cutting in line!"_

_"Keep in line, please!" _

Other servants hurried up and down the undulating mass of discontent and irritated people, a dark cloud seemed to hover over the heads of those present.

The roar of _**'NEXT!**_' shook the entire building to its foundations, those nearest to the open doorway cringed away, some actually looked like they were reconsidering even venturing towards the doorway and the ominous wall of mutant exasperation and aggravation pouring forth.

"I do not care if branch from a neighbour's yard is hanging over into some guy's yard or if someone else isn't getting enough sleep." Adalbert growled fiercely. His entire expression darkened with each passing moment as his cerulean eyes lifted to fix on the door with a mix of temper and exasperation. _How in the name of the Great One had he ended up being the one responsible for dealing with this?_ "These matters are not something that are brought to the attention of the Maou!"

"On the contrary," Gunter's replacement sniffed indignantly, a sharp-eyed and stiff-shouldered man with a rather clipped tone. "It is a vital task for the Maou, for it gives him the opportunity to hear the voices of his people."

"If you think giving _gardening_ advice is important, why don't you do it?"

Immediately the aide turned wide, rather horrified eyes towards the door, looking much like a deer caught squarely in a hunter's sights.

A small, grim smile curved Adalbert's mouth as his hands settled before him on the surface of the Maou's desk, his eyes fixed upon the aide, who had been giving him trouble since they had started this whole crazy situation earlier that morning. "I would like you to pre-screen everyone before they come in here. I know I won't have time to meet with everyone who has turned up today, but I'm certain you will be able to sort out those people whom I truly need to see." Adalbert's voice was quiet and calm, his blue eyes fixed on the proverbial thorn in his side. "You are here to assist me after all, aren't you? Well... _go_ _assist_."

The aide gulped.

"No need to be shy about it. I'm certain they don't bite." Adalbert couldn't help but feel a flicker of pleasure at this, even though he knew it was wrong of him, he couldn't help but want to share this particular misery with others. Truly, he didn't know how all those before him had handled all this ridiculousness.

_**"NEXT!" **_Adalbert bellowed again, gesturing for the aide to proceed out the door and begin to do as he'd been told.

A giant bear of a man came through the door, his entire body cocooned in layers of bandaging, a fear in his eyes that almost made him tremble.

Adalbert leaned back into his chair with a sigh of his own, knowing that this was going to be one hell of a long day.

* * *

><p><strong>The Priestess's Forest, Borderlands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

_"They're here!"_ A soft feminine whisper floated through the treetops, rustling only a few leaves with its passing. The wind swirled with the rippling energies that buoyed about on the clear, crisp day. _"They've come!"_

_"They're outsiders, not a part of this forest." _

_"They're headed for the lake..." _

The breeze stirred, swirling amongst the branches, gaining momentum, responding to the growing unrest of the guardians of this ancient wood and its timeless secrets.

_"We must send word to Lady Ondine."_ The woman's tone was filled with anxiety and apprehension, all of them terribly aware of the inrush of powerful presences that had infiltrated the edges of the woods. _"Hurry!"_

Several leaves were torn from the tips of branches and twirled in the air, before being whisked away by a wild kind of magic that flowed through every inch of this too _perfect_ forest.

_**"Hurry!"**_

* * *

><p>Yuuri paused for a long moment, permitting himself the chance to appreciate the untouched beauty of this place so far beyond the lands of the Kingdom he was familiar. Inhaling deeply, he drew the scents of crushed pine needles and the damp freshness of the lake edge deep into his lungs. With it, his senses opened to the world around him as his dark eyes swept his surroundings and glanced towards his fellow riders, feeling his lips curve upwards at where his Conrart was already barking out orders to the soldiers, the Prince who knew his men. A flutter of warmth coiled low in his stomach when brilliant silver eyes turned towards him, sparkling with love and softening just a little when their gaze locked for several heartbeats.<p>

"It's beautiful," Yuuri murmured, a long sigh slipping out of him.

"Why are you so carefree? The box could be around here." Wolfram huffed softly from one side of him, a touch of a scowl tugging at the corners of the blonde's mouth, anxious to truly begin this journey which had so far just been one long ride through the countryside.

The Maou smiled wryly at Wolfram's restless impatience, understanding it well, though it was amusing that before they had left the man had been convinced that this was just a wild goose chase.

Crouching down beside the water's edge, he reached out one hand to lightly touch a finger to the crystal-clear liquid lapping softly against the grassy shore. It was surprisingly warm against his fingertips, the tingling rush that sparked up along his nerve endings made him shudder just once. Leaning closer, he carefully cupped a little in his hands, drawing it up to his lips and swallowing it down. A fierce jolt of recognition struck him hard in the gut and he stilled, the taste of water magic lingering on his tongue, sweet and painfully familiar. It seemed like a lifetime ago he had tasted water exactly like this.

He didn't quite know how it was that he knew this lake and its waters, when he had never travelled to his part of his Kingdom's borders. Yet, it could not be denied. In those very first days he had spent in the Great Demon Kingdom, he had tasted water like this, its magical essence tingling within him, _like to like_…

"I've rarely seen water this clear."

Wolfram sighed softly, wishing he understood exactly what could be going on inside of the Maou's head. "What's wrong this time?"

"It's nothing." He stood up slowly, brushing off his clothing and drying his fingers against the fabric of his pants. "I just think I've tasted this water before."

"That is rather ridiculous. All water tastes the same."

"True." The Maou considered his own reflection on the surface of the perfect, crystalline waters. "The essence of it though… is not. I am certain I know it." He just couldn't place it exactly, no matter how he searched his memory.

Their conversation halted the moment Conrart, Gunter and Geigenhuber moved to join them, drawing a smile to Yuuri's lips to see his friend whom he hadn't seen in weeks. However, he truly wished that their journey would give them exactly what they sought; that in this lake did rest the Bottom of the Mirror, and that they could finally take the fight right to the horrors that lurked within those four Forbidden Boxes. Yuuri's gut clenched at the thought of just what the three Boxes in their possession could be doing to his Kingdom, to his people. He could only trust in the barriers and other precautions he and Kenta had managed to put into place to prevent as much seepage from them as humanly possible.

"Good news," Conrart remarked with a gentle smile, a hand stretched out to lightly brush several stray drops of water from Yuuri's lips. The soldier brought them to his own, licking them up before focusing on news he had to impart. "There does seem to be a Box in the depths of this lake."

Yuuri shivered at the intimacy of his husband's gesture. "And do you think it could be the Bottom of the Mirror?"

"We have no proof of that yet." Griesela answered thoughtfully. "But according to local legend, a box with strange powers is indeed hidden here."

"We should remove it as quickly as possible from this area." Gunter advised, his lavender eyes unable to help but sweep the line of trees that surrounded the wide, calm lake. A flicker of tension tightened the man's shoulders beneath his white uniform, the man's lips pressing into a hard line. "And bring it back to his Eminence."

Yuuri agreed whole-heartedly.

* * *

><p><strong>Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

A long, exhausted sigh slipped from between Ken Murata's lips as his knees gave another violent twinge, reminding him of the fact he had spent the last two hours on cold stone, repairing one of the inner walls of the Tomb of the Great One. Every part of him ached with a ferocity that was truly _unpleasant_, where only this morning his body had throbbed with a kind of deep, blissful ache that he had wished to indulge in for longer. Indulging in just a single morning of being able to lay curled in his beloved's arms had ended with the first loud knock on the door of their shared chambers and the first 'request' of the day.

"Damn it… Yuuri… you lucky stiff…" He breathed a disgruntled sigh, sweeping the trowel one last time over the red brick of the wall. "Lucky bastard… getting to escape all this for a few days… he's probably off enjoying himself…"

Yozak was somewhere out in the grounds, more than likely having been set to work weeding or pruning. Wiping at his cheeks, he rubbed at the splotches of dirt that streaked his skin. His glasses were knocked askew on his nose, sliding off slowly to one side as he continued to scratch at his skin.

Murata was slowly beginning to think living away from the Tomb might just be what he needed if he was to have any chance to advance his relationship with Yozak further. Their time recently had not been their own. With so many demands and requests being made, his head felt like it wanted to explode from it all. He knew the priestesses weren't doing it on purpose, but truly... could he not sit for just a moment without...

"Your Eminence, if you're finished here, could you weed the garden next?" A priestess stood just behind him, peering over his shoulder at the wall he had been repairing for near an hour already.

"Hold it! This comes first!" Another feminine voice interrupted sharply, clearly displeased over the idea that this job would be left unfinished to her satisfaction.

"I hear you, I hear you." Kenta replied, pushing his glasses back up his nose before they slid right off of it. Returning to smoothing out the dark, almost purple plaster across the surface of the stone, he held in another long-suffering sigh. "I'll get to it all in turn, I promise you."

"We're really starting to depend on you!"

_That was not a good thing. Definitely __**not**__ a good thing at all..._

"It's wonderful having men around here!" The second hurried to add in her own 'compliment', smiling over the fact that Kenta had just completed his task and would soon be able to work on her request.

"Your Eminence!" A third Priestess appeared as if out of the stonework, hurrying towards him with a look of horror and worry etched into her features. "So, here you are, Your Eminence!"

Her mouth opened in preparation to divulge the reason she had come to find him, but the Great Sage interrupted her, his tired eyes turning towards her, weariness written on every feature. "Right, right. What's next for me?" Between these jobs... he had not had very much time to continue his studies, attempting to discover what it might just be that the Originators were planning and also have answers ready about the Forbidden Box when the Maou and his entourage returned from the Forest. "Got a jar you can't open? Maybe a toilet that's backed up?" His tone was laced with just a little bit of sarcasm, the weight of so much resting so heavily upon him and his thoughts.

"It's Lady Ulrike!"

His response died on his tongue the moment those words were uttered.

"_Where?_" He rasped, his heart dropping swiftly with a sudden fear that the long quiet weeks had just come to a bitter and decisive end.

* * *

><p><strong>The Lake, Borderlands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Six small rowing boats glided over the lake, the bright sunshine shimmering across the water's surface. Yuuri couldn't help but lean over the side and gaze down into the watery depths, trying to find something to keep himself occupied with in order to _not_ focus on the sounds of Wolfram's dry retching beside him.

"Could you please stop for a moment," Yuuri requested of Dacascos who was currently rowing their boat towards the large pontoon and crane rig sitting in the centre of the lake. Leaning a little closer to the water's surface, he gazed down into the clear depths and swore he could make out the faint outline of a box-like object. "Could that be the Box?" He pondered softly, glancing over at Wolfram, feeling a twinge of sympathy at the fact Wolfram had closed his eyes tightly in order to avoid looking at what was down there.

Suddenly a flittering shadow beneath the surface abruptly darted upwards, rushing in one powerful motion straight towards Yuuri. With a startled yelp, the Maou jerked backwards as a bony skeleton of a fish leapt from the water, jaws open and snapping just an inch from his nose.

The boat rocked wildly beneath the abrupt shift in weight, while the skeletal fish continued on upwards, fins wiggling in mid-air before it dropped harmlessly back into the lake.

"Stop rocking the boat!" Wolfram all but wailed, his face going from pale to an alarming shade of green. White-knuckled fingers clung tightly to the side of the boat, Wolfram shivering in horror from head to toe, his jaw clenched shut in order to prevent anything from rising from his churning stomach.

Strong hands caught at Yuuri's shoulders, steadying the Maou from behind, while Conrart chuckled softly in amusement. "There is nothing to concern yourself over, my Dragon, it is merely one of the Fish Bone Tribe getting a touch too frisky."

"Fish bone…?" Yuuri shook his head slightly in astonishment, unable to resist leaning forwards again in order to peer back over the side at the schools of bone fish which merrily swam unperturbed beneath their small boat. "And here I thought I had seen most of the weirdness…"

"They are a rare species, but it appears this lake is heavily populated."

"As long as they don't fly… I'm good."

"Fly…?" Conrart asked curiously.

"Well… we have human skeletons flying around… and there are such things as flying fish…"

"Flying… _fish_!" Wolfram's green eyes widened in horror at the thought, staring at Yuuri in utter dismay.

The Maou burst into a bright laughter, body shaking slightly with the force of them. He felt just a touch lighter than he had at the start of this trip, especially when Conrart's rich chuckles mingled with his own. The two of them sharing a quiet smile, earning themselves another half-hearted glare from Wolfram, though even the blonde couldn't keep a slight smile of his own from coming to his lips.

"Prepare to raise the box!" Geigenhuber commanded the men, his eyes flickering towards Gunter and Gwendal were they joined him in observing the efforts of their men. "All hands make ready!"

"Yes, sir!" Several voices answered, the soldiers moving swiftly about their assigned tasks.

The entire structure bobbed ever so slightly, the motion almost imperceptible, but Yuuri couldn't help but shift slightly in discomfort. Energies swirled about him, magic twisting and whirling in intricate and indecipherable patterns, ones that Yuuri could almost see if he squinted hard enough at his surroundings. For all he agreed that the box needed to be lifted, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of apprehension over the act. One thing which could be said about Griesela was that the man knew how to organise people. The efficiency of effort of those around him was rather remarkable. He appreciated their work.

Much to his surprise, it was Dacascos, whom surfaced a few moments later, the man's face a touch ruddy from the deep dive. The soldier panted for air, before raising one hand to give them a thumbs up signal. Brown eyes turned towards Geigenhuber, as the Demon Tribesman swam forwards to pull himself back up onto the wood planking. "The Box is secure, Sir."

Yuuri observed the man for several long moments, studying him in order to see if there was anything that had clung to the man when he had come into contact with the box. But there was no faint shadows or any other kind of change to Dacascos's magical aura, the faintly visible lines of power that marked out every Demon Tribesman. There was nothing. Just the normal slight shimmer of energies, nothing unusual.

"Then, let's raise it up!"

"Sir!"

The metallic groan of the winch filled the afternoon air as the slow process began.

White fingers of fog coiled imperceptibly around the roots of large deciduous trees lining the edges of the lake. The whiteness spilled forth, swirling and twisting in wild eddies, as a breeze rippled across the still waters. Unnaturally it poured out from all directions, like an incoming tide it grew progressively thicker with each passing moment. The outline of the shore started to blur, like an image out of focus.

"Fog...?" Conrart's brows pressed together, his larger frame shifting ever so slightly towards his husband, his palm sliding down onto the hilt of his blade. The wind gathered about his body, before he sent it outwards with the quietest command, yet the fog resisted the brisk gusts.

The leading edge continued relentlessly forwards, unfazed by Conrart's conjured wind.

A shiver rippled up along the Maou's spine, his sense of foreboding growing by the second. Tension radiated out of every single person around them, as if they could smell the trouble brewing out there, somewhere amongst the tree. The dragon shifted just beneath Yuuri's skin, awakening rapidly.

"This is no natural phenomena." Conrart voiced what they were all thinking, his fingers becoming white-knuckled on the hilt of his sword, several inches of cold steel appearing as it slid upwards.

The Maou glanced down towards the water around them, magically testing his connection to it,gritting his teeth, when he felt the sparks of resistance from it. His fingers fisted slightly, nails biting into his scarred palms, extremely agitated by the lack of control he had over the lake. It would not do for him to rely upon the dragon, especially not with the forest so near, so much fuel that would feed a devastating fire if they were not careful.

"Where did it come from?" Wolfram asked, his pale face drawn in lines of strain, especially as all the movement of those around them sent the entire structure rocking and swaying slightly beneath their feet.

"I don't know..." Yuuri responded, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply, attempting to follow the lines of power that swirled around them all, but there were far too many powerful Demon Tribesman around him. Their proximity made it impossible to grasp the wisps of another presence, which may be propelling the fog closing in around them. Quite honestly, in that moment, he was uncertain if it was only one presence that lurked within the vortex of fog, or if there were multiple forces empowering it.

Glancing towards Gwendal Von Voltaire, he hoped that the other man might have more luck than he at attempting to get any kind of fix on who or what was causing this mist.

"Gwendal?" Gunter asked quietly, attempting not to break the man's concentration.

Lines etched themselves deeply into the man's skin, cerulean eyes darkening to almost black as the Lord shifted, his jaw clenching in obvious frustration as he too was unable to capture a clear sense of who it was that was wordlessly trying to drive them off. "It might be best if we suspend the recovery efforts for now. I think the Box is safer where it is at the moment..."

The Maou agreed completely with the suggestion, signalling his concurrence with the suggestion.

"All boats return to shore!" Gwendal's booming command propelled them all into sudden motion.

Yuuri only hoped their reaction to this unknown threat had been fast enough.

* * *

><p><strong>The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Gurrier Yozak hefted the heavy basket a little higher on his arm, his blue eyes sliding over the crowds of civilians all around him in quiet observation. Amongst the hustle and bustle of the market place, he could hear the murmurs and feel eyes burning their way across his back. It was like that everywhere he went; the constant staring, the whispers... the snickers... the angry, disparaging shouts. Numbing cold settled across his skin, a tiny shiver working its way down his spine as old memories-ones he had tried so hard to bury rose to the surface. He deserved it this time, the scorn and hatred of his fellow soldiers, of all of those who he had betrayed in his desperate bid to win back something that hadn't been his to have. Even though he had been pardoned, he knew it was not that simple, that questions would be asked, his reasoning questioned.

_The sting of stones and fists meeting flesh... the curses and words of hatred and disgust flung at him by humans and Demon Tribe alike._ How easily the memories of childhood returned. A harsh, knotting ache formed low in the pit of his stomach, his shoulders slumping a little in on themselves as his head dipped and his pace quickened just a little to avoid those he realised were now following him through the milling crowds.

A sudden, desperate desire filled his heart and soul, a longing for the security of his beloved's embrace, of the warmth and knowledge that even now he belonged somewhere. That there was somewhere he was wanted. For all his strength, for all his usual bravado, Yozak knew he needed that love more than he needed to breathe. He wanted to again prove himself worthy of some small amount of trust. He desired deep down to the bottom of his soul to once more be the person his Prince and his King could trust and have faith in. The problem was, he just didn't know how yet to start on that journey. How to place foot upon the long rocky road back to the place he desired to be, a trusted member of the King's men.

Something pale, almost silvery abruptly caught his eye down one of the long alleyways where children usually played and he came to a jarring halt at what he saw.

"Lady Ulrike?" Gurrier stood frozen for a long time, staring at the rather unusual little girl standing in amongst several other children. A flash of disbelief curled through him at the sight, for he honestly didn't know what to make of it

"Wow, you stink at this," The smallest boy whispered, his eyes staring down at the game circles drawn in chalk on the alley stones.

The other children grew just a little restless, all of the previous excitement draining out of the activity, especially since each one of them couldn't help but feel the strangeness of the child who had come to join them in their game.

"Let's go home," An older boy spoke out, glancing at the lavender haired girl amongst them. "Mum's waiting for us."

"What?!" The unusual young girl squeaked out in surprise and with just a little bit of hurt in her tone, her eyes going wide and her entire expression growing desperate to not be alone again. "No, don't! Don't leave yet!"

"But you're no good at this game!"

"Wait!" She called to them, one hand reaching out to grip the sleeve of another girl, fingers clenching into the fabric, loath to let go. "Just watch, I can do this better! This time, I'll do it right!"

Turning around, the girl focused on the tiny stone piece that she had been using to try to strike the other game piece out of the circle closest to her. The tiny piece quivered, jerking back and forth slightly where it rested outside of the circle, before lifting straight upwards much to the surprise of the other children and also the man watching all this happen. Tiny flickers of magical energy danced around edges of the piece, before it skipped forwards, knocking the stationary piece right out of the circle.

Yozak knew without a doubt just what that power was... though he had never witnessed a display quite like _this_.

However, the result was not going to be what the 'little girl' wished for, and as her swirling blue eyes lifted to the faces of the other children, she caught the terror in their eyes... _the fear of her, _and the smile that had been growing in anticipation of this moment faltered. She had been so pleased to know that she had done it right this time...

"See?" She breathed out, her heart on her sleeve, plain for just a moment for all to see as she tried to understand what was wrong. "I'm not so bad at this game. Who would like to have the next turn?"

"Let's get out of here!" The eldest of the children cried, before, as one, the five children bolted, terrified beyond measure by what they had just witnessed. The sound of their retreating footsteps bounced against the walls of the alleyway as the children disappeared down it and out of sight around the next corner.

"But why?" She pleaded with their retreating backs, a hand stretching out towards them as she took a step forwards, longing to follow them. "I played the game right didn't I? Why... did you all run away?"

A spark of compassion filled Yozak's heart as he watched the scene, knowing a little of what the girl had just experienced. He couldn't keep his silence and so he stepped forwards around the corner and right into her line of sight. "Excuse me, Miss, but can I talk to you for a minute?"

Blue eyes lifted to Yozak's face, an expression that the Half-Blood could not name crossed her face as she fixed all of her attention upon him. Then he recognised it, the anger... the helpless rage of the rejected... and the desire to lash out at anyone or anything in order to express the pain that coiled darkly within. However, the problem was that she was focused on him and that glint of unbelievable power had returned to her eyes.

"Will _you_ play with me, big brother?" Her words sent a cold chill jolting down along the length of Yozak's spine as he instinctively took a step backwards. "You will, won't you?"

Yozak had a feeling he didn't have a choice in this matter.

* * *

><p><strong>The Lake, Borderlands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The prow of their boat bumped against the grassy shore, the billowing clouds descending upon them like wraiths, thickening until the trunks of the first row of trees almost disappeared in a bland white haze. The soldiers were the first to disembark, anchoring the boats to allow the rest of them to cautiously step onto that one visible spot of land, trapped between the broadness of the lake behind them and the unknown shadows of the forest before them.

Gwendal shifted protectively between the Maou and the forest, the earth beneath all of them giving a very tiny shiver, as if trying to buck off the magical fingers of both Yuuri and Gwendal as they attempted to tap into this new element. The undefinable presence seemed to permeate every inch of this landscape far more clearly than it had before, making the Maou reluctantly draw the fires of the Dragon to him, letting the soul that shared his very being see out through his eyes. If it came down to it, the Maou would wrench control of the elements to himself, but only as a last resort.

Yuuri crouched between Conrart and Wolfram, silently observing all that was going on around him, his jaw clenching in silent frustration.

"I think there is about ten of them." Griesela whispered harshly, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his own blade, his eyes moving restlessly over every faint shadow that moved in the roiling haze. "By my estimate."

"Closer to twenty," The Royal Advisor corrected, gaze narrowing on the ever shifting scene before them.

"Are you ready?" Gwendal spared a glance back towards the three men behind them.

"_Conrart!_" Yuuri's voice cried a warning. **"Arrows!" **

A half-dozen wooden shafts cut through the thick haze towards them, deadly accurate even in this blasted fog.

A wild whirlwind sprang to life before them, the gusts of air knocking the arrows off-course to land with several solid thumps into the rich earth just before Gwendal and Geigenhuber. They were too close for comfort, far _too_ close.

Swords flashed in the dim afternoon light, slashing at the second volley of arrows. Wood splintered under the expert slices of the trained Tribesmen. Soldiers charged forwards to meet the enemy head on, fearless against what was lurking in the shadows and veiling mists. Three cloaked and masked figures erupted from out of the whiteness, long blade-tipped pikes whipping around to meet the honed blades of Gunter and Gwendal.

A quick meeting of blades, steel meeting hardened wood, before the attacking figures danced away, back into the shadows. Like snarling wolves, the white clad figures appeared and disappeared like ghosts, angling vicious attacks at every man, attempting to take them down.

"I can't see them in this fog!" Gunter barked in irritation, his sword whipping upwards to shield his head and face from an over-handed blow intended to crack open his skull.

Griesela let out a snarl, parrying a blow that had been aiming to separate his arm from its socket. However, when he moved to engage the man in close combat, the figure darted backwards, evading him and evaporating right back into the mist without hesitation. "Yet, their attacks are accurate."

Two guerrillas charged the small knot of people around the Maou, assaulting Conrart and Wolfram in the same instant. Wolfram twisted as he met his opponent, throwing his weight frontwards into his deflecting strike. It was a mistake he would later regret when the younger of the three brothers found himself pitching forwards as his opponent stepped back, forcing Wolfram to over-extend and stagger forwards away from Yuuri. Wolfram's sword thrust straight out before him, his attacker launching himself with a startling degree of power into the air and the heels of the man's boots came crashing down between the blond's shoulder blades.

Wolfram landed with bone-jarring force, the wind knocked out of him, his body prostrate on the grass, his fingers desperately clinging to his sword. Desperately scrambling to right himself, he stared upwards into his attacker, his entire body shaking with the knowledge that with one blow this stranger would snuff out his life.

Abruptly, a razor-sharp sword was pressed against the side of the man's throat, glinting dangerously as it sliced effortlessly through layers of pale fabric to touch coldly against the man's skin.

_**"I wouldn't suggest doing that."**_ The Maou's voice was a harsh, dangerous snarl, obsidian eyes narrowed on the man. No one threatened his family. **"Tell your fellows to cease this attack or I promise you, you will regret forcing me to play my hand."**

The man hesitated, his entire body frozen as he clearly attempted to work out a way to get himself free from the predicament he found himself in.

**"STAND DOWN!" **The roar of sound left Yuuri and froze everyone in place, just as another voice called a cease to this brutal assault upon them.

"Cease fighting!" A voice echoed the Maou's own command. Young and feminine, it was completely at odds with the entire scene. From within the swirling banks of mist, a young girl, barely half the size of her two attendants appeared. Yet, one look into her wide, brown eyes revealed the presence of an ancient soul within an immature form. "Hear me, my people; these men must not be harmed."

Every single person halted completely, as if frozen in place by the sudden wash of magic that swept over the area like a tidal wave, feeling something like the fog had when it had first appeared. However, the Maou was startled to realise that though the taste of the energy was similar to the one that had created the mist, there was something fundamentally different to it.

The Maou's dark gaze narrowed ever so slightly, before he lowered his sword, slipping it away back into its sheath. Every sense he owned was on high alert, especially with the flickering touches of that unfamiliar magic against his own where it was coiled up tightly about him, cocooning the dragon he carried within his body. The _taste_ of the maiden's power was familiar, though he couldn't honestly remember where he had last felt such a thing.

"Lady Ondine!" The hooded man who had been prepared to slay Wolfram suddenly dropped to one knee, head bowed in honest submission to the young maiden.

The other guerrillas responded in kind, their weapons dropped onto the grass, their bodies crouched and lowered in supplication. The maiden's name was a worshipful whisper rippling between them, almost a prayer.

"Lady Ondine?" Gwendal's rumbling baritone silenced everyone, his dark navy eyes narrowing upon the maiden, sweeping her from head to toe, taking in the powder blue of her robes and the white and blue pattern embroidered on the edges of the fabric. There appeared to be a similar patternation on the chests of the fighters, the stylised blue cross the only colour on the otherwise white fabric. It was oddly familiar in its design, yet he couldn't place it. "Who is Lady Ondine?"

"I don't know," Gunter responded, wracking his memory in search of the name, but coming up truly with nothing. "I have not heard of her."

The young girl swept past her followers and the members of the Maou's party with quiet, authoritative strides. The silent gesture of the King's hand indicated to his people that they should allow her passage. Her blonde locks were swept back away from an innocent, serene face, in two almost austere braids, her chestnut gaze remaining fixed solely on Yuuri. There was something so terribly _familiar_ about her. About the way she looked upon him with silent pride and hope, as if at some point in the past they had indeed met under better circumstances and she had found him agreeable.

"It has been a long time, Your Majesty," Ondine's entire face lit up with affectionate warmth.

Only up close did he realise just how tiny and fragile she was and just who it was she reminded him of, _Lady Ulrike_. Like dominos falling squarely into place, he could now make good sense of all the things he had experienced up until this point. Though the priestess had approached him with warmth and openness, her people remained subdued and brooding, clearly displeased still over their presence by the lake. It was understandable now, why they had reacted so strongly to their disturbing of the Box, if they had been as he thought, entrusted with the safety of it.

"Please, Sire, forgive the rudeness shown by these people. They have never once left this forest." She had slid down to her knees before him, her head downturned in a show of genuine respect to the Maou. "Therefore, Your Majesty's face is unfamiliar to them."

A deafening silence that followed that explanation, before one of the guards lightly tugged down the mask that covered much of his face, the flash of startled horror widening brown eyes.

"Your Majesty...?" A man rasped out, swallowing back the lump rising in his throat, for the first time getting a very good look at the black haired Maou, who stood out starkly from the rest of his people. "You mean... this is...?"

A woman's voice truly choked around the words, the horror and realisation flashing across her face as it too was revealed. "Please, forgive our disrespect!"

"Please accept our apologies!"

Yuuri's gaze remained fixed on the Priestess and his lips parted slightly as he exhaled sharply with an ounce of recognition of his own. "I _do_ recognise you. The child who greeted me..." And had offered him water, a dozen tiny things he hadn't been able to place, now put themselves together into a pattern even he could recognise.

Beside him, Conrart too leaned in just a little closer, startled too by the identity of the priestess. "The girl who offered you water on the ride to the Capital?!"

The Priestess just smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>Tomb Of The Great One, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"She was like this when you found her?" Kenta leaned over the bed, his worry palpable, his brown eyes sweeping across Ulrike's features, seeing the strain and agony etched into every line. "Ulrike..." He breathed out her name, cursing himself for not being as attentive as he should have been. He had noticed her exhaustion and her restlessness since the Birthing Ceremony, yet he had chalked it up to being nothing that would leave any lasting harm.

"She wouldn't wake up no matter what I tried," A lavender haired Priestess whispered, her voice catching in her throat as she peered over Kenta's shoulder down at the almost comatose Ulrike. "So I came in the room and..."

Stretching out a hand, Kenta's palm settled across her forehead lightly, almost drawing it back as the almost painful heat radiated up from her damp, sweat-streaked skin. The moment their skin made contact, he could feel it, as if an aching void had sprung up deep within Ulrike's body. For a long second, he stood stock still, his heart racing within him, pounding so loudly he swore he could hear it. _How could this be? How could this truly be?_ "I don't sense her life force at all..."

"Your Eminence?"

Frightened and disbelieving, the Priestesses could only stand there, not knowing what to do..not understanding what had happened to their leader and the heart of their order.

"It's like her soul," Murata leaned closer, trying to get a reading on what it was he sensed, searching with all of his senses for any lingering trace of what it was that had affected Ulrike like this. "Like it's left this place and gone on a journey..."

"But Lady Ulrike is right here with us," One woman protested weakly, her hand reaching out to grip at Great Sage's arm, shaken to her very core. "And yet..."

A sudden window-rattling clap of thunder erupted from outside of the windows, a second and then a third blast followed shortly after. The vibrations rippled through the ancient stone of the Tomb, tipping over a nearby jug and sending the pitcher smashing to the floor, unleashing a small wave of water to flood over the floor.

Murata was immediately at the window, his hands gripping the frame as he stared out across the treetops and to the city standing within its protective walls below them on the hillside. Dark plumes of inky smoke coiled upwards from within the city's walls, twisting slowly around as if caught up in a vortex. The priestesses too were captivated for a long moment by the spectacle occurring right before their eyes... and the unmistakable presence of Ulrike's life force at the heart of all that chaos.

Behind the spectators at the window, a ghostly shape leaned over the bed where Murata had been standing moments before, not a soul aware of her presence... In the expanding wave of water that swept across the floor, a woman's form took shape, her long blue and white streaked hair so very distinctive... as well as her clear, yet sightless eyes. Fingertips brushed lightly against Ulrike's cheek in affection and deep concern, lingering there for long moments.

_'My dear friend...'_ The woman whispered as soft as a sigh. _'...Ulrike, come back to us.'_

From deep down in the dark place she had fallen, Ulrike heard the distant whisper of her name, coaxing her back from oblivion and towards the real world. Pale lashes fluttered and lifted away from dazed eyes, and for a heartbeat of time, they focused on the edges of the transparent face that hovered above her. "... _Julia_...?"

A smile curved the woman's lips in response to the sound of her name, but the moment it did, she vanished as if she had never been.

Ulrike in her feverish delirium was gifted with the awareness of just what it was that had happened to her. Her body fought hard against the weakness that spread through her like a virus, sapping her strength. Her head twisted ever so slightly catching sight of Murata and her lips parted as they tried to form themselves around another word... a plea for help. "...Plea...se..."

Dark eyes snapped to her, Murata twisting around to stare back at the bed.

"Stop me..." Her voice was the only sound in the room, barely above a choked whisper. "Stop me... please..." She begged them all. "Before... it's too... late..."

* * *

><p><strong>The Forest, Borderlands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The veils of white mist parted and vanished all together the further from the lake they travelled. The silence of the lakeside was replaced with the thrumming chorus of forest life. Vibrant greens crowded his vision, only broken by the few flashes of azure when the interwoven branches of the trees parted to let in a little burst of sunlight.

"That blasted fog has finally cleared," Wolfram sighed with relief, glancing around himself at the rows upon rows of trees that spread out in all directions about the narrow path they hiked along.

"The Master lives within the lake." Ondine explained, "Sometimes he forms the fog. He probably did so as a precaution because he didn't recognise your party, Your Majesty."

"The Master?" The Maou's lips turned down into a frown, brows furrowing as he glanced down at the priestess before him, attempting to make sense of everything that had occurred up until this point. The only conclusion he could reach was that there was a creature of some unknown quantity in the lake and that both it and Ondine drew their energies from the same source. It would explain why he hadn't been certain earlier about the origins of all that energy and the lake's resistance to his control, especially if the being responsible for the mist actually _lived_ within the lake.

It was a sharp reminder to Yuuri Shibuya Weller that he was a novice still when it came to understanding the intricacies of not only magic, but also all the beings that inhabited the world around him. _He might be powerful, but power did not equal understanding or control._

"I think you will meet him, Sire, before you return home." The priestess said softly, a quiet smile playing about her mouth.

* * *

><p><strong>Forest Village, Borderlands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The narrow path abruptly gave way into one of the oddest villages Yuuri had ever seen, one that forced every single member of their party to crane their heads back in order to see the first white washed house amongst the colossal branches of the most immense trees he was certain any of them had ever seen. Wooden ladders and platforms crisscrossed the forest canopy, linking together a village worth of houses, which spread out in all directions.

"I had no idea there was a village in this forest," Griesela commented thoughtfully, his curious eyes turned upwards in quiet admiration, but also clearly making mental notes on each little house they passed.

"I don't think anyone did." Conrart mused, though his hand never strayed from the hilt of his sword, still on edge even given the reassurances that they were in no danger from the villagers. "I think that was the entire point."

Overhead several of the Bone Tribe flew amongst the trees, empty sockets watching the progress of the men as they moved through the quiet village, each person aware of the dozens of eyes fixed on them from overhead. Much to everyone's quiet amusement, the Maou waved a hand of greeting at the Bony who trailed behind them, teeth chattering together in a welcome of the creature's own.

The currents of power shifted abruptly, when they stepped from amongst the trees into a small clearing. The very earth resonated beneath them, like a tiny hum vibrating in the back of everyone's skulls, ringing a little in Conrart's ears. He was stil,l even after so many months, unused to the awareness of the world he had gained alongside his gift. One hand lifted for a moment to touch against the side of his head, rubbing at an ache that had started just there, but immediately drew it back, not wishing to appear distracted by something so unimportant. Yet, he was aware of the sudden warmth of another's body close to his own, soaking through the fabric of his clothing and into his very being.

Silvered eyes dropped down to meet Yuuri's concerned ones, but instead, for a split second, he was startled to find a pair of sightless blue eyes turned up towards him, a feminine face, so achingly familiar yet so out of place in that moment. His breath caught hard against his ribs, a name choked in his throat, every muscle vibrating with tension.

_"Conrart?" _

In all those years, her voice had not changed. Not the softness of it, or the cultured accent that turned his name into something more than just a name, had altered. He closed his eyes against the vision, trying desperately to dismiss it, to drive her from his mind.

"Love?"

He forced a smile, when warm fingers curled over his forearm, squeezing softly in worry. Shaking his head ever so slightly to indicate it was nothing to be concerned over, though that image remained with him, sharp and distinct. Opening his eyes again, relief filled him at the sight of that most beloved of faces appeared right before him. Rubbing his fingers against the Maou's own, stroking them tenderly and wishing for his husband to know that he would be fine in a few moments. At least, he hoped that he would be.

The Maou paused, hesitating between worrying about Conrart and the fact that they were finally _at_ their destination and everyone was waiting for them.

"It's nothing." Conrart murmured firmly.

Yuuri's lips pressed together in a rather unconvinced scowl, but the clearly a nearby shout drew Yuuri and Conrart forwards and into the circle of people who stood upon the black and crimson design etched into the very earth, a signwhich positively flared with power the moment the edges of their boots brushed against it.

"Long, long ago, this lake and the area surrounding it were empty; barren and utterly lifeless." Ondine's voice was soft, almost as if she were telling a story to children, her eyes were distant, as if she truly could see what it was she spoke of. "Then a box appeared from out of the skies, with the power to rejuvenate the lake and new life took root within the earth that would give rise to this forest." Chestnut brown eyes swept across them all silently, before fixing on the Maou. Her expression immediately began to soften just a little at the sight of Yuuri, her eyes lingering upon him with a mixture of pride and something else undefinable. "Since the box arrived, my tribe has inhabited this forest for many generations and my people have vowed to defend that box to very end. My people have been on constant look out since we realised someone was approaching the lake."

"Why is that?" The Maou asked softly, his eyes sweeping over Ondine's face, knowing the question was almost a foolish one.

"My people believe that if the box is removed from the water, the surrounding area will become barren once again." Her shoulders trembled slightly with the very thought of what could happen if that all came to pass. "It would destroy the lives of all who live here."

Conrart dropped a hand lightly against the small of his husband's back, feeling the vibration of conflicting emotions swirling just beneath the man's skin. However, neither of them stated what they knew they still needed to do.

"But you must understand that we must retrieve that box." Wolfram commented, glancing around at the faces of his family and friends, green eyes reflecting his uncertainty. "The other Boxes..."

"I understand that in this world, four objects are not to be tampered with. The Originators nearly destroyed this world in ancient times. Thankfully, the Great One was able to prevail and to seal them in those you're reclaiming them, the Boxes, to check their authenticity, it means his Eminence has returned to this world, doesn't it?"

"Who are you, girl? How could you know that?" Gunter demanded sharply, taking a step forwards, hand returning swiftly to the hilt of his elegant sword, his teeth gritting together.

As if in answer, a carved stone pedestal slowly erupted from the ground before Ondine, its carved hexagonal form oddly reminiscent of the shape of the Tomb of the first Maou. A muted sapphire radiance illuminated the fine crystalline sphere, which had risen from within the pedestal. The soft glow, which started between her palms, revealed itself like a flower, cascading over her skin until her magical aura was visible to all. Her dark eyes slipped shut, as her palms cradled that fragile ball between them, drawing on some unseen force to help her in whatever task she was attempting to accomplish.

"That crystal ball," Gunter was clearly surprised at the sight of such a familiar object in the possession of this maiden. "She must be..."

"I'm certain she's a priestess." The Maou murmured thoughtfully. "That is so very similar to the ball I've seen Lady Ulrike use." Yuuri had once witnessed a viewing of souls, where Ulrike was able to look upon all the world and view each magical user as a brilliant star shimmering in a sea of blackness. It had once been used to locate himself and Kenta Murata when they had been in Caloria after he had been forced to flee the burning church and the unprecedented attack upon himself, Yozak, Gunter and Conrart.

"I have been protecting this forest and the lake, waiting for the day to arrive. The day that I could complete the final task given to me by the Great One. I have steadily lost my powers and just recently became unable to hear the Great One's words." A note of true pain filled Ondine's voice at that last, terrible admission.

"That means you must be…" Gunter quieted at the realisation.

"I don't think it is your lack of power, Lady Ondine, which prevents you from hearing the voice of the Great One." Conrart informed the Priestess, his silvered eyes filled with solemn regret, sharing a silent glance with his husband. "There are forces at work that…"

Yuuri shook his head slightly, they had assumptions and guesses about what had happened to the spirit of the Great One who had appeared to Conrart when he was in a Big Cimaron jail cell. It was not something to speak about in public, especially not here amongst strangers.

"So… you're like… the predecessor to Lady Ulrike, right?" Wolfram asked in puzzlement. "She's 800 years old… and that would make you…"

Everyone stared openly at Ondine, who blithely smiled right back at them, with a gleam of amusement in her eyes.

"Ondine?" Conrart interrupted everyone, drawing their attention back from the astonishing fact that this young maiden, who appeared to be little more than ten, was older than everyone present by a _significant_ amount. "What is your final task?"

"To assist the Double-Black Demon King, he who didn't know true magic, must make a pact with the elements." She replied quietly, eyes fixing on Yuuri, a sparkle in her gaze.

"Covenant...?" Yuuri whispered, lifting a hand to rub lightly at his chest, remembering that very first moment during his duel against Wolfram when he had felt the first potent surge of his magic.

Conrart, Yuuri and Gunter knew in that moment exactly who this girl was, they had had their suspicions, but they were now confirmed.

"The water you gave him to drink, was...!"

"Now I see!" Wolfram's green eyes flashed with sudden understanding. "That was why he was able to use water magic so quickly!"

"That water was drawn from the lake here. You see the power of that lake water lives within you... it was your first connection to this world."

The Maou's tongue lightly touched against his lips, clearly remembering the familiar taste of the water from earlier that day.

"Guess you weren't being so daft after all, Sire." Wolfram huffed quietly, his elbow lightly nudging against Yuuri's arm affectionately, earning him a sharp glance from Conrart.

Yet, the matter of the Box remained; a looming shadow over this day of odd little revelations.

Conrart could positively feel the gears inside of his husband's head turning rapidly, clearly trying to work out a way of not only protecting these good, decent people, but also a way to ascertain whether or not the box that resided in the bottom of the lake actually was what they hoped it was. His heart sped up for a moment when those obsidian eyes lifted to gaze back at him, a flash of inspiration illuminating the vibrant depths of them.

"There may be a way of not only protecting the forest, but ascertaining whether or not the box is in fact the one we are looking for." Long, elegant fingers rubbed back through Yuuri's mane of hair, his head cocking to the side as he regarded all those around him. "Although, it does mean I get a little wet in the process." His attention becoming fixed on Ondine, scrutinising her closely, wishing to accurately judge her reaction to what he was about to propose. "If we bring the box up from the bottom and hold it beneath the rigging, I should be able to get close enough to it to be able to hopefully tell if it is indeed the Box we are looking for."

"_Yuuri_," Conrart's voice was quiet and suddenly far more wary.

"Every other Forbidden Box I have come into contact with has been... _leaking_."

And those small leaks had almost destroyed _nations_. Everyone could still remember the heart-wrenching sight of the many malnourished souls of Conansia Svelera and the devastating drought that had gripped the land, reducing almost every inch of it to parched fields of dusty soil and roiling sand. Those leaks had also infected people, the mad eyes of King Belar and his actions evidence enough of what could happen to someone who remained too close to a Box for a period of time.

"I'm willing to take the risk if it means these good people will not have to face the possible destruction of their home and this forest." The Maou's jaw clenched slightly, his attention fixed on Lady Ondine. "However, if it is a Forbidden Box, I cannot allow it to remain here. No guards or powers would be strong enough to prevent what would come from leaving such a thing here." Big Cimaron's forces would stop at nothing to claim the Box if they knew it was here, but the bigger threat came from the Box itself, if the wards on it truly came apart it could spell the end of everything here.

"We accept your proposal." Ondine whispered without hesitation, her fingers trembling where they wrapped around the curve of her ball, knowing that in that moment, her powers were not enough to truly be of any use to the Maou or to her people. "We always knew... it might come to this..." But none of them had ever imagined it honestly had a chance of becoming reality.

"Your people will be provided for, no matter what happens, Lady Ondine. My people and I will see to it. We do not leave our people behind, not for any reason."

A sudden, horrified look flashed across Ondine's face, all colour draining from her face as entire body trembled. "The box... someone... is trying to take the box..."

* * *

><p><strong>The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"NO!" Yozak cried out, spreading his arms wide, attempting to stand in the way of the soldiers that had responded to the rather deafening explosions that had been caused by the strange being—the one who bore such a striking resemblance to Lady Ulrike, High Priestess of the Great One. "Wait!"

"Stand aside!" The Sergeant growled, his fingers wrapped around the hilt of the sword resting at his hip, tensed and ready for action. "This is none of your concern, _civilian_."

"You don't understand!" The Half-Blood protested, his hand dropping down to where his own sword would have once rested. Yozak gritted his teeth against the humiliation that came to him when he couldn't stop this before it grew even more out of hand. "Damn it! In the name of the Maou, listen to me, do not engage her!"

**"Stand aside." **

"Listen to me." The man growled fiercely, daring to take two steps forwards, blue eyes blazing with determination. "You stand no chance against her. Let me lead her out of the city...! _**Please**_."

"FOUND YOU!" The levitating child cried gleefully, her face alight as her eyes fell upon the dozen soldiers that stood on the other side of Yozak. "And you brought friends!" Her lips curved into a delighted smile, her hands stretching out before her as she swept forwards. **"Let's play!" **

To Yozak's horror, something dark... something appearing almost insidious seemed to seep from deep within the child-like body, tainting the brilliant shimmer of magical energy around her. Down in the pit of his stomach the soldier knew what it was; knew that dark, bitter taste, one that had sunk its talons deeply into his body and soul. That same dark magic had also once plunged itself deep into the heart of King Balar of Big Cimaron and taken up residence within the man's very soul.

"Found you!" She cried gleefully again, expression bright and filled with mischievous light. "FOUND YOU!"

"Run!" Yozak bellowed at the men, knowing that these soldiers were no match for this tainted and dangerous being. He feared that they were liable to end up also infected with what darkness. These men that were armed and in one of the most heavily populated parts of the Capital, the results of such a combination were potentially devastating. Yozak was knocked back violently out of his worries, his fast reflexes the only thing that allowed him to avoid the sweep of one blade meant to clear him out of their path. "In the name of the Great One, listen to me!" He begged.

"You're not going to spoil my fun!" The girl suddenly snarled, her innocent face turning into something dark and almost predatory, tainting the heart-breaking despair and desolation that already haunted her eyes."You aren't going to leave me!"

Hands stretched out towards the soldiers as they charged her, bolts of blackened magic surging from her fingertips and slamming full force into the soldiers, knocking them clean off their feet, their weapons flying from their hands to clatter against the paving. Yozak lunged forwards, his fingers closing around the hilt of a fallen sword, knowing that he had to stop this before something worse could happen. A pang of regret stung him as he acknowledged that if it came down to it that the people, _his people_, needed to be protected in any way possible. His beloved would know what to do, yet he couldn't risk leaving, couldn't risk going to search for Kenta...

Lifting the blade, he knelt beside one of the fallen soldiers where the man laid like an abandoned toy, discarded on the road, one amongst a dozen. His fingers pressed against the side of the man's throat, praying silently that he would find a pulse, and for several heartbeats of his own he could find none before it leapt against his fingers. A surge of relief jolted through him when the man's eyes blinked open, dark brown staring up at him for a long instant before an unexpected expression spread itself across the soldier's previously dour features.

"YOZIE!" The man suddenly announced to the startled Yozak, a look of childish delight following before astoundingly strong arms wrapped around the Half-Blood man in a bear hug.

"Par...don?!" Yozak wheezed out, barely able to breathe through the rib-cracking embrace he was still locked in. Using all his skills in an attempt to pry the grown man off him, all of which turned out to be in vain, for that grip seemed to just tighten incrementally in response to his every struggle against it.

"YOZIE YOZIE! Play with me!"

Before astonished blue eyes, the other soldiers began to rouse themselves, similar expression of childish exuberance marking each face as they turned on Yozak.

"Get a hold of yourself, soldier." Yozak demanded gruffly, his fingers still clenching around hilt of his sword, knowing it was completely useless in this situation. "Snap out of it!"

"Aww... come on, let's play!" The Captain actually pouted at him, bottom lip sticking out babyishly. "Please play with us, Yozie!"

A delighted laugh, filled with glee came from the little girl as she clapped her hands in joy, spinning around in mid-air, rather pleased with her trick upon the man who had dared to try to spoil her fun.

"Play with us! Play with us!"

Yozak had no words at all to describe the strangeness of this entire situation, only the overwhelming sense that he was grateful that somewhere deep inside this being some small child-like part may've prevented the hatred and rage of the Originators from causing a situation far, far worse than this _almost_ comical one.

Hooves pounded against the worn, compacted earth as the two harnessed stallions galloped headlong towards the city, the carriage behind bouncing hard with each jutting stone it went over. Murata snapped the reins, urging the horses faster, his body almost thrown from the driver's seat as they hurtled downhill.

He didn't slow the horses as they approached the open gate into the city, not even giving the soldiers that barred his way a second thought. For he couldn't think of anything other than the fact that for one brief moment as he had hurriedly ushered the feverish and weak Lady Ulrike on board the carriage he had sensed the life force of the one he loved at the heart of that black storm, swirling visibly over the heart of the city. Yozak was down there, right in the midst of that maelstrom of magic and something far more sinister. The Originators had struck again, this time through one of their own, with dire consequences for all if it could not be stopped.

"This is an emergency!" Murata roared at them from his precarious seat aboard that carriage, his heart pounding against his ribs. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Only at the last moment did the three grey uniformed soldiers heed his warning and fling themselves away as the two harnessed horses plunged between them, rushing by in a whirl of wood and creaking leather.

"That was his Eminence!" One soldier blurted out in shock, staring after the carriage and swearing in that one moment he had glimpsed the passenger within... and that it had been the High Priestess herself. "What's happened?!"

* * *

><p><strong>The Lake, Borderlands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

The metallic grind of chains coiling around a winch carried across the waters of the lake, echoing distantly amongst the trees as the entire party of Demon Tribesmen ran back along the trail towards the shoreline. A cold knot of dread had formed in Yuuri's gut, clenching hard as the dragon's snarl of anger vibrated deep within the Maou's bones as the keen senses of the dragon sharpened everything about him, confirming his worst fears.

As they emerged from the trees, it became obvious why none of his own men had reported the arrival of the squad of Big Cimaron soldiers. His soldiers lay crumpled across the shoreline, the acrid scent of blood filling the air from around several of the men; all of them were bound and gagged, some were badly wounded, their uniforms stained red with fresh blood. _Some were not moving._ Amongst their number, several uniformed _human_ soldiers lay unmoving, abandoned where they had fallen by their comrades, discarded like broken toys.

_"Attend to the men! Hurry!" _

Cold rage simmered low within the Maou, his magic rising fiercely at his command. The dragon clawed at the inside of his skin, desperate to get out and lay waste to those responsible for this travesty. His eyes fixed on the pontoon, the knot tightening, as the netted box abruptly appeared above the surface of the water and into open air. A shout went up from the floating pontoon, the flash of uniform figures and the horrifying sight of a weapon Yuuri would never forget.

The concussive sound of cannon fire resounded in the Maou's ears as several fiery bolts flew towards them, aimed directly at the downed men and his own party. It was clear exactly why the men were left like that, exposed and visible from the pontoon and the perfect bait to draw them in closer.

For one brief instant, Yuuri felt as if someone had caught a hand around his heart and literally wrenched it from his chest at the sight of Conrart before him, that tall, proud form protecting him once more. The bright burst of flame flew towards them, the raw burn of gunpowder and smoke scorching the inside of his nose, drawing him back to a moment months before. For a split second, he was there again, amongst the flames and ruins of the church, the roar of the enemy's weapons reverberating all the way inside of his skull.

Propelling himself forwards, his smaller frame slammed hard into Conrart from behind, driving them both to the ground as a wall of water rose from the lake, intercepting several of the fire bolts. His limbs coiled tightly around Conrart, shaking so hard, his teeth rattled in his skull, shielded his husband as best he could, frantic to protect his beloved, _desperate_ not to let go. The bright, cascading bursts of steam exploded around them, in scolding gusts, when the missiles made contact with the curtain of fluid, the two elements reacting violently.

Two stray shots veered off overhead, erupting as they made contact with the canopy of leaves and branches. Flames spread from leaf to leaf, branch to branch, igniting everything in its path. Coils of smoke rose from the still living wood, sending a dark plume rising high above the treetops.

"The forest is alight, hurry!" Wolfram's voice was hoarse with shock, his eyes wide as he stared up at the rippling columns of flame that were rapidly consuming the drier trees along the bank. However, it was the sight of the Maou that sent a greater shockwave through him... Yuuri was trembling so hard, the youngest of the brothers could hear his teeth chattering

"We need to put out the fire!" Gunter surged forwards, his sword clear of its sheath, his long cloak swirling about his body turning his mind to the most important issue, though all his attention was fixed on the Maou and the Prince Consort. Apprehension burnt like acid in his veins, his anxiety building rapidly. _**"Sire!?"**_

Yuuri's fingers clenched tightly in the fabric of his husband's uniform, Conrart was attempting to push himself upwards, but he refused to let him, no sound able to make it out of his suddenly dry throat. Deep within his body, the creature stirred, responding to the roiling emotions crashing around inside of the half-blood's body.

"_Yuuri_…?" His words were muffled against the damp grass, his head twisting around as much as possible to look upwards, and his body stilled at the terrified look that shimmered in the endless black of his gaze. "…Love…"

The air trembled with the second volley, the thundering explosion of the launch echoing across the lake as the soldiers scrambled to secure the Box as it drawn fully clear of the water. In the next split-second the brilliant glowing balls of flame and raw energy surged towards them all.

Flaming wings, coloured in a spectral array of hues, erupted from the Maou's back, the spiritual creature drew itself free of the Maou's skin, its body uncoiling across the two of them. Its form vibrated with the flaring impact, the throaty roar of the dragon sending a shiver through each and every person present. The pinions were spread wide, protecting those within the Maou's service, the dragon's forelimbs sinking into the water of the lake, which hissed into tendrils of steam around the long, razor sharp talons.

With ruthless speed, Gwendal and Gunter answered the silent command from Conrart as he directed them back towards the wild flames that were rapidly spreading out through the forest. The earth vibrated beneath all of them, while Gwendal's powers surged, walls of soil and rock rose from around them, spilling over the crackling flames, smothering them. Wolfram and Geigenhuber joined in the fight against the fire, knowing they needed to put it out swiftly before it spread any further. Promptly they all applied themselves to the task, trusting in the ferocious beast that stood guard before them. Together, they were an effective force in confronting the inferno.

Conrart twisted, managing to wrap his husband up in his arms and sat up quickly, one hand lifted up to curve around his beloved's jaw and tipped it upwards, his sterling silver eyes meeting his lover's once more. "_Yuuri_." It was a loving whisper of his beloved's name, their ragged breaths mingling between them. "My little Dragon… we need you…"

Yuuri's fingers convulsively clenched on his husband's jacket over where a livid scar wrapped fully around Conrart's left arm, desperate to free himself of the horrifyingly vivid memories that seared the inside of his eyelids with the fact his husband was whole and hot beneath his touch. The stench of blood tormented his senses, the harsh metallic notes so strong he could almost taste them, though it had no source. His entire body shuddered powerfully, his breath catching in his throat. "The church… the _soldiers_… _Conrart_… "

Instantly, the man understood.

Beyond the outstretched wings of his dragon, the cannons were been loaded once more as with a heavy thump the box settled onto the deck, the webbing falling away from around it, the brown uniforms of the soldiers crowding in close. With a snarling rumble, the massive creature plunged forwards into the water, waves of steam rolled off the dragon's translucent scales, massive jaws opened wide as it advanced upon the soldiers. All attention was suddenly upon the dragon, the cannon fire slammed into the resistant bulk of the creature, becoming another part of its body, only adding to its strength.

Unnoticed by the soldiers, a single spot of sickly crimson formed directly above where the box had been resting on the lake floor. Like poison, it seeped outwards, an ever expanding ring of blood red, as if all the vibrant life had been drained right out of the lake. The spider-web weave of magic that flowed outwards into the forest from the depths of the lake shivered as the very heart of the web began to wither and die without the unknown power of the box to support it.

The Maou's breath was knocked clean out of him as the invisible cords that tied him to this place snapped taut, wrenching at the core of his being. His head twisted, everything whirling as a shout from one of his people drew every eye towards the lake.

Racing outwards, the scarlet ripple flashed across the surface, beneath the dragon and onwards, the change between water and earth not causing even a hesitation in its advance. Grass withered away into nothingness, the trees reduced to blackened stumps, the very magic that had created such abundant life in this sheltered place had been stripped away by one simple act. From deep below the surface, thousands of the fish bone tribe rose up, their bodies writhing in the water as they turned belly up, all that was within them being poisoned

A raw sound was torn from deep within Gwendal's large frame, his entire body jolting as all of the magic inherent in his element was almost completely stripped away from him. Only Gunter's arm wrapping protectively around his waist prevented the large frame from sinking down onto the earth as the magical strength that dwelt within Gwendal too was being sapped, in some desperate bid by the elements of the land to prevent it from dying.

All around them, the smoking spines of the burning trees groaned with the weight of what had descended upon them, the shrill shriek of tortured wood filled the air before, one after another, dozens of trees toppled to the earth, which trembled at their passing.

It was like of wave of realisation that crashed against Yuuri once more, slamming into him with the force of an oncoming Army. It shook him hard out of his fears, banishing them in one blinding moment of _rage_. A cry escaped from his throat, mingling with the howling roar of his dragon, the creature's head lifting to the sky in answer to the Maou.

Energy crackled and snapped around his body, seeping out of his every pore, casting a fierce azure glow about his body. Spears of energy erupted from beneath his feet, coiling and twisting upwards around him, before rippling outwards, sending a shockwave racing through the forest and out across the lake towards their enemy.

"What's happening?!" An enemy soldier screamed, his voice caught up and choked off as a wave rose and swamped over several of the stolen boats, capsizing them and casting dozens of men into the churning, roiling waters of the scarlet-toned lake. The water boiled and frothed around them as something enormous began to rise to the surface beneath the pounding waves. Smaller Bone Fish snapped at soldiers as they too rose to the surface, drawn inexorably upwards by the power of the one that commanded them.

_**"HELP! PLEASE, HELP!"**_

_**"SAVE US! OH BY THE GODS, HAVE MERCY!" **_

_**"CAPTAIN PLEASE! SAVE US!" **_

Yet, no mercy would come to them.

The Maou strode forwards, the water parting and calming beneath his feet and , as if by a miracle, he didn't sink but hovered above the writhing surface of the lake. Step by step, he advanced upon those that had invaded his land and placed so many at risk with their recklessness. Slit-pupilled eyes narrowed upon those that still clung desperately to the lifting rig, desperately trying to hang on and not be cast into the water as well.

All around him, the spray kicked up by the water, rained down upon the smouldering trees and brush, rapidly beginning to extinguish the inferno these invading humans had set in the forest along the shoreline, one good result from what the Maou was doing.

"He's... oh... God... he's walking on water!" One soldier cried, staring with disbelief at what was happening right before his eyes, his fingers white with fear where they clung desperately to the rigging as it pitched violently beneath him and his fellows, sending several more tumbling into the treacherous waters.

"Never mind that!" The Captain of the battalion shook himself, desperately trying to cast away the dread that had settled itself deep within his bones. "_SHOOT!_ **SHOOTTTTT!**"

The rumbling boom of the hand cannons followed a moment later as several of the gunners fired, their fiery missiles sailing towards the Maou.

**"YUURI!"** Conrart's scream was drowned out by the roar of the Dragon as it positioned itself between Conrart and the others and the incoming barrage of fire.

Before they could even reach them, however, the shimmering ribbons of energy that cocooned the Maou deflected the blasts, disintegrating them into nothing more than fragments that scattered and plunged into the lake. A hand lashed out towards the rig in retaliation and massive water serpents erupted from below, jaws opened as the twisting forms slammed bodily into every single soldier that held a cannon, casting all of them into the surging waters with no remorse.

From beneath the Maou's feet, a monstrous head rose from the roiling lake, the rest of the creature's body soon following, lifting the Maou up and towering all the remaining humans that were still desperately holding onto not only the Box but also the rig. The skeletal creature opened its massive fanged jaws, a bone-trembling hissing rising from deep within it.

**"****_Unforgivable_."** The single word rose from deep within the Maou as he stared down the humans with a fury scorching low in his gut, the anger burning him from the inside out. His entire body positively trembled with the tumult of emotions that exploded from within him. His powers were barely leashed, straining against his fragile control, while he clung onto the fact he could still hear Conrart shouting his name from onshore. **"What you have done is unforgivable!"**

The smell of gunpowder stung his nostrils still, the acrid burn of smoke filling each breath that was drawn deep into his lungs. He could hear the pleas of these soldiers, the desperate appeals for mercy. _How many others had pleaded for their lives before these soldiers? How many innocents had fallen beneath their cannons... beneath their cruelty and scorn?_

Below the Maou's feet, the massive King of the Lake began to _inhale_, drawing in everything in his path as if through a giant invisible straw, which sucked in everything in its path... boats, people and the box alike. In a churning maelstrom of bloody-coloured fluid, they were drawn into the belly of the beast, their cries choked off and silenced.

_"YUURI!"_ Conrart stood knee deep in the waters of the lake, his body protected within the coils of the dragon, his plea the only one to reach the ears of the Maou. "Yuuri... _love_..."

At the sound of that voice, a dark head twisted around, and the Maou gazed down upon his husband, his heart lurching within his chest at the sight of those hands stretched out towards him and the plea written in every line of that beloved face. The plea for him to have mercy upon these soldiers... for the regret and guilt Conrart knew might come with their deaths. Even though they were responsible for the attempted murder and torture of their people, Yuuri knew his beloved was not the kind of person to kill indiscriminately... or in anger.

With a sudden and rather indelicate sound, the swirling waters contained within the belly of the massive Fish Bone King jetted up and out from the beast's open side. Boats, pieces of wood, men and nets were deposited abruptly upon the grass in a spout of water, which spilled across the ground in a miniature tide of water, which washed back down and back into the lake. With a last, solid thump, the Box dropped out and onto the shore amongst the dazed and soggy soldiers.

Yuuri 's gaze fixed only on his husband as the beast slowly began to sink down beneath the waves beneath him. His face paled to a stark white as the energy began to slowly drain out of him and back into the landscape around him, his trembling growing with each passing heartbeat.

_"Come back to me."_ Conrart breathed out, his voice carried by the wind that twisted around him, _"Come back to me... I'm here..." _

_I am here and will never leave you again._

* * *

><p><strong>The Capital, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

A single horse and rider rapidly approached the jovial throng of dancing citizens, soldiers and civilians both. Several civilians had been struck by the twisted magic when they'd attempted to flee their market stalls and get to safety within the houses lining the streets. A number of other stalls lay smoking and charred, revealing the source of the earlier explosions. Adalbert Von Grantz's expression changed from grim anticipation to surprise the closer he approached the jubilant horde of people, his brows drawing together in confusion before he glanced upwards at the swirling figure of the young girl bobbing and weaving in the air above the soldiers' heads.

Barely three blocks behind the rider a full battalion of soldiers followed the Captain of the Royal Guard in hot pursuit, along with one rumpled, caterwauling Aide who looked like he had been put through the proverbial ringer. The Aide's protests over the fact that the captain had abandoned his desk and the long line of waiting people back at the castle for this were swallowed up by the loud, slightly bawdy songs, of the revellers.

"TURN BACK!" Yozak shouted from where he was currently trapped between two dancing soldiers, dragged about in the milling throng of celebrating people with no chance to escape. "Captain, Turn back before she...!"

And that was when the girl's eyes suddenly turned from her party to focus with rapt delight on the stern-faced Adalbert. Her entire face seemed to light up from within with renewed zeal for the game she had been playing with all of her new friends. "More friends have come to play with us!"

Coils of magic formed swiftly around her hands, tiny specks of darkness bubbled forth into the twin globes of brightness directed at Adalbert as the Captain drew his blade, his jaw clenching as he stared upat the child who had caused so much strife already with her games.

From a side street, a carriage seemed to erupt, the horses foaming at the mouths as the driver suddenly stood up, his hands outstretched as he called upon his own powers. Just in the nick of time, a bright, crackling blue barrier erupted from the street and neutralised the incoming blast, both forces bursting apart with a deafening roar that slammed forcefully into Kenta Murata and sent him flying from his unsteady perch and to the ground just behind the carriage. The whole conveyance rocked on its wheels, the horses startled by the sound rearing and jolting forwards into motion again, just as the carriage's single passenger stumbled through the half-open door and collapsed onto the paving below.

"RETREAT!" Adalbert bellowed at his troops, but instead gestured with a hand for them to take cover on the branching side streets that ran off this one and to circle back around. A single blue stone pendant swung from its place beneath his shirt from the ride, rising and falling with every heaving breath rider and horse took.

Within moments, the well-trained soldiers were doing as they were commanded, scattering before several spiralling blasts struck the road just where they had been standing, dissipating harmlessly off the cobbles into tiny rays of violet light. However, invisible to most, tiny dark tendrils remained, squirming and writhing upon the ground and searching for the nearest host to infect.

The heels of his boots dug into his horse's flanks, urging his grey mount forwards urgently, not about to tolerate anyone -not even a supposed child- causing this kind of destruction on his watch. He had been entrusted with the protection of this city in the Maou's absence and he was not about to fail his Lord in the face of this absurdity.

However, Ulrike stood up, her long white and red robes flowing about her trembling frame as she confronted the being that had already caused so much havoc this day. Her breath was stolen away as she gained her first true look at the little girl who possessed her soul and so much of her essence, shocked beyond all words at the sight of the infestation that had taken hold within the child's heart. Her fingers rose to her own breast, pressing against where her heart beat so rapidly within, grieved and mortified to know the evil had found a place to grow inside of her without her knowledge.

"You can't remain outside of me, my Child." Ulrike spoke to the tainted spirit, knowing deep down within herself that she alone could rid the world of this threat... one that had been in part of her own making. "Or I will be forced to stop you... in a way neither of us will like."

"What can you do to me, stumbling around like that, old lady?" The child challenged angrily, violet-blue eyes sparking with fury which had now found its true target. "_Stumble-bumble, stumble-bumble, stumble-bumble!_" The girl took up a chant, pulling faces as she swirled across the sky, teasing the High Priestess.

With the child distracted from her game, Yozak wrenched himself free from the grasp of the enchanted men, sprinting across the space between himself and his beloved. Gathering the one he loved up from where he lay dazed upon the stone, one hand cradled that dark head against his chest, his other arm embracing that shaken form, pulling him even closer. "Ken...?" He breathed out worriedly against the softness of his beloved's hair, trying to understand everything that had happened up until now and not being able to find any kind of explanation for it. "Is that...?"

"It's Ulrike..." Ken groaned out, gritting his teeth against the stinging ache that burned up across one side of his back, knowing it was rather likely he had earned himself quite a few bruises in the fall. "The Originators have gotten to her... infected her..." A half-smile touched his mouth at how this particular move by the enemy had turned out. "It looks like she's a little tougher than they were expecting... if they had truly gotten a hold on her... things would be much, _much_ worse than this..."

Humiliated before those she cared about, Ulrike's fists clenched at her sides as she lifted her head once more to face the one that mocked her, willing in that moment to truly confront herself. A golden radiance seeped from her pores, rapidly turning into a blinding glow that forced everyone around the High Priestess to shield their eyes. Beneath that blanketing brilliance, the slender, child's form began to rapidly mature, from child... to youth to mature woman. Gone was the innocent, girlish face of the eight hundred year old High Priestess of the Great One and in her place was a woman, a true force to be reckoned with, one not cowed by name-calling or the terrible truth of what had happened to her.

"Come here, my child." She demanded softly, not raising her voice, but her expression brooked no argument. "Say you're sorry to all those you've hurt and they will, I am certain, forgive you for all this trouble."

"NO!" The girl protested, fists clenching as she was on the very edge of once more throwing a rather destructive tantrum. She tumbled over as she directed a devastating bolt of seething, black magic towards the woman, releasing it with another declaration of her sole desire. "I want to play more! Play! **Play!** **PLAY! You will play with me!**"

The burst of magic crashed into an invisible bubble of protection that had formed around the Lady Ulrike, rippling outwards across its surface and sizzling away into nothingness. Tiny, worm-like creatures were reduced to ashes against that purified energy before they could seep back into Ulrike's physical being.

A hand stretched out towards the child, the woman's face lined with the compassion and sympathy for the child despite all she had done, despite all the chaos she had caused. "Come to me, please..." She pleaded, fingers outstretched, beckoning to her. "Come to me... and I will make it better."

"Liar!"

The accusation hit its mark within Ulrike's soul and sank deep.

"Forgive me," Ulrike took another step towards that spirit, her heart in her voice, every word torn from some place deep within her, a place that hadn't, until this moment, ever been brought into the light. "For making you feel so very lonely... for not ever speaking of the pain you felt, of the grief you experienced at the deaths of so many of our loved ones." Her hand pressed over her heart once more, though this time she could almost feel once more than presence she had barely a half hour before, the sweetness of Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott. The sound of her voice still echoed within her soul.

Ulrike felt every ounce of _guilt_ that came from being one of those who had spoken to Julia, convinced her to give up her very life and existence in order to allow the Maou to be born. She had been the one to reassure a woman who trusted her that it was the will of the Great One that she do this. _Yet, how could she know for sure?_ How could she know for certain now in the light of the Great One's infestation by the Originators that it had been the Great One and not the Originators that had planned this all. _Had she sacrificed her friend's life...?_ _Yet, how could she regret it all... knowing all the good the Maou had brought when he had returned to them?_ It tore her apart.

"Forgive me," She pleaded with her other self. "Please, forgive me... for the sins I committed."

The child hesitated, startled by the admission, frozen in place as she forgot everything else.

"You... admit it...? That you... made her leave us?"

"I..." Tears misted her eyes, sliding down her cheeks as she choked around all the words she desired to say, the plea of forgiveness to the one she should have helped protect. They would not come, no matter how she tried to give voice to them.

"She was my friend!" The little girl cried out, her own features twisting with a pain buried for over two decades. "My _only_ friend!"

Ulrike slowly slid to her knees, her entire body trembling with the overwhelming wave of grief that twisted up from deep within her very being as her head bowed, tears streaked down her face and dropping onto the cobbled stone beneath her. Wrapping her arms around herself, she sought some consolation, but knew that there was nothing she, or anyone else, could say that could ease this, especially not when Julia's beloved Adalbert had come to witness this horrible situation. "...Forgive me, she..."

Yozak's arms held onto his beloved fiercely, not daring to release Kenta even though he too knew how much the one he loved wished to give comfort to her. He embraced Kenta even tighter, refusing his pleas to let him go, knowing that right now it was Ulrike's fight-that the only one that could defeat the blackness writhing within her soul was the High Priestess herself. The half-blooded Tribesman knew that sometimes you needed to face what was within your heart and soul yourself. Sometimes you needed to find your way out of that darkness with the determination and faith that one day you would make it. This fight was _personal._

"She needs to do this on her own, Ken," Yozak murmured against his beloved's ear, his forehead resting against the curling strands of soft raven locks. "Sometimes... the battles we fight need to be done within ourselves. If she is to rid herself of the Originators... of their hold on her...she needs to confront what gave them such a hold on her in the first place." Yozak's road to salvation was still a long, arduous one, but one he wanted to continue travelling, in order to become more of the person Dunheely Weller had thought he could one day become. He respected her for slowly embracing those first difficult steps on the road to true redemption.

Inch by inch, the child descended to the earth, drawn in by the start of Ulrike's admission of the tragedy she was responsible for. Silently the girl's feet touched the ground, the rippling waves of blackness fading from her magical aura as she began to approach the Priestess.

The child wasn't the only one that stepped towards the High Priestess. Adalbert Von Grantz also approached Ulrike, worry having etched deep furrows into his stoic features. His sword was no longer in hand, but rested back in its sheath, for the stalwart soldier had sensed that the threat to the civilians in the city had lessened. His hand lifted to signal to his waiting soldiers to hold, to let them know not to advance quite yet. "Lady Ulrike?" He questioned gently.

Liquid eyes lifted to meet Adalbert's penetrating gaze and instantly dropped away, her shoulders trembling with the acknowledgement that she was not the only one that had lost Suzanna Julia that day so long ago, but that Adalbert too had lost someone he had loved so very deeply. She had also deprived him of the chance to say goodbye when Julia's soul had been in her possession. Conrart Weller had been entrusted with the task to carry her soul to Earth, not Adalbert.

"I'm so sorry." Ulrike murmured sadly, her eyes still downcast.

"You have nothing to apologise for," The man responded as he crouched before her.

"No," The woman protested, forcing her head up to meet his blue eyes, letting him see the guilt and regret in her own. "_**I do.**_ I'm the one that convinced Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott to follow the will of the Great One. I was the one that told her that the future needed the Maou, needed King Yuuri Shibuya Weller... and not her."

Shock shot through Adalbert's heart and soul at that admission, any words he had been able to offer dying there in his throat.

"I'm the one that convinced her of her duty to the Great One and to the Great Demon Kingdom... based upon the words and will of the Great One." _Who might not have been the Great One at all... but a puppet of the Originators. _

Adalbert was stuck in the gut by the words, gazing at someone he would have honestly, unquestioningly trusted with the life of the one who had once been his all. For so long he had blamed Griesela Geigenhuber for her death, so it was a painful revelation to know that, either way, Julie's life had been forfeit, that no matter how the war had played out... she would have left him. _It had been planned, all of it. _Her early death had been pre-planned, her very life no longer of any worth to those who had planned to use her soul for their own designs. The pendant at his throat swung free once more, shining a warm blue as it caught the light. It was all that remained of Julia... the last thing that had been hers.

Everything within him desired to rage once more at that knowledge. To lash out at this one person newly confessed to be responsible for so much suffering and the loss of the woman that had been precious to so many. Yet, he felt disconnected, especially after the past was brought back into sharp focus with his fiancé's experience with Julia's spirit. Gisela had claimed she'd seen Julia, and there had been the numerous other reports that had cropped up between then and now...

"How can I ask to be forgiven...?" Lady Ulrike's voice cracked beneath the weight of her emotions. _"How can I forgive myself?"_

Adalbert wished in that moment he could offer such comfort to her... to offer her the words she needed... but those words would not come, no matter how much he could feel them on the tip of his tongue. In some part of himself, he too, felt that guilt and responsibility for this. The acknowledgement that he had not possibly done all he personally have could to prevent Julia's dying. Now, even after the forgiveness he had given to Geigenhuber, he was faced yet again with the twenty years of hatred he had experienced trying to return.

"Do all you can to make it count," The words were forced out from between his lips, as his eyes closed, his stomach roiling and knotting up on itself. "All you can do is make sure she didn't die in vain. That... her life has—_had—_meaning, and that her memory is treasured..."

"How... do I do that...?"

"Only you can answer that." Von Grantz responded firmly, gripping his emotions and straightening his shoulders. "We each must find our own path to salvation." His head swung around, his blue eyes fixed on Gurrier Yozak where he cradled his beloved Sage so close again him, and in that moment, as their eyes met, a silent understanding went through them both. A bridge's first foundation was rebuilt after Yozak's actions this day. The half-breed's attempts to protect all those people, even those who would look upon him with hate, inspired Adalbert's own willingness to open his eyes to the world once more.

The Priestess's eyes fixed upon the child who stood before her, barely an arm's length away, her heart opening up to accept this as part of her, this guilt so deep she felt it might have the power to swallow her whole. Her arms opened out towards the girl, and to her surprise, the girl launched herself into her embrace, the two of them slowly melting back into one as Lady Ulrike, High Priestess of the Great One, accepted that agonizingly painful, long-denied part of herself.

In one violent rush of energies, a high pitched _scream_ sounded as the darkness that had taken root within Lady Ulrike was purified from the inside out. A brilliant burst of energy flashed through the Priestess's entire form, every black speck that had so poisoned her soul disintegrating into nothingness. Slowly, with each breath, Ulrike shrank, the years being stripped away from her body and returning her to the form that was known so well. It seemed almost amusingly anti-climatic... yet...

Adalbert reached out one large callused hand towards her, a smile finding its way up from deep within him. "There is much to be done this day to repair all the damage that has been done."

Her hand hesitated for only a moment before sliding itself into his much larger one, feeling the warmth of his fingers close tenderly around her own. As Ulrike looked into the man's face, deep down in her heart she knew she was not alone, that there were so many who cared for her, and that she still had a place amongst this family of lost souls.

"Yes, there is alot to be done..." A smile of renewed determination found its way to her own lips in response to his, her own grip tightening on his. "But I'm not afraid because... I know I'm not alone."

* * *

><p><strong>The Lake, Borderlands, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

Ropes tightly bound the Big Cimaron soldiers, several of whom had required medical assistance from the healers of the forest village. Each had been disarmed and now they awaited judgement in regards as to what should be done with them. Reinforcements had arrived soon after with Lord Griesela Geigenhuber in the lead, ensuring that none of those captured would be making an escape any time soon.

Yuuri rested his hands lightly against the last of his own wounded soldiers, refusing to allow any to dissuade him from this task, needing to do something good after everything that had gone so terribly wrong for him. Wolfram had assisted him, silently moving amongst those who needed immediate treatment and those who would recover given time, his green eyes looking up time and again at the Maou, everyone aware of what had happened during this battle.

Large hands wrapped around Yuuri's bloodstained ones as the Maou set aside the last of the needle and thread he had been using to carefully stitch up a wound on the leg of one of the soldiers. Warm fingers caressed over his, cradling them, but also refusing to let them go. A wedding ring glinted around one finger, the band hot against Yuuri's skin. He tugged his hands against that hold, seeing the rich streaks of crimson spreading across Conrart's, transferred from his own.

"My hands are dirty." He protested, still attempting to tug them free, his dark eyes fixed on where that blood spread and spread with each struggle further over those fingers and up to Conrart's wrists. "Let go... _let_ _go_..."

"I won't let go." The Prince Consort replied firmly, his grip tightening just a little more around those hands, refusing to release them, and not caring about the blood on them for he knew that it came from neither of them. "Didn't I promise you that I never would again?"

"I'm getting blood on you."

"_Yuuri_," The man whispered fiercely, tugging those hands closer and up against his chest, pressing them against his heart. "I am here, you are not alone."

"I failed." He blurted out, his head still turned away from Conrart's, unable to look up into his beloved's silver eyes, knowing that if he did, he would crack apart like an egg, his soul shattering apart all over again. "I failed _again_. I hesitated. I hesitated when I should have acted! I am the Maou, I'm meant to be strong, fierce... prepared..."

"And human," Conrart added softly, uncurling those clenched fists in order to press his beloved's palms against his heart,, not caring that his coat was being stained, only wanting the one he loved to feel the steadiness of his heartbeat. "In as much as every man... no matter his rank makes mistakes. No life was lost this day and the enemy is defeated. No man is perfect, but we can all learn from our mistakes." His words didn't come out like he had wished for them to, his heart aching to know that he couldn't do as much as he wanted to ease all the distress and roiling emotions he could feel bubbling away beneath Yuuri's skin.

Defiant shoulders sagged, as he gave in to his husband's ministrations the moment warm lips brushed against his fingertips, making him look up. Their eyes met for a long moment, andYuuri swallowed down the lump that formed in his throat at the look of warm, soul-deep love that was been directed straight at him from within those brilliant silver orbs. He couldn't resist this man, nor the comfort he offered.

"Don't think you've escaped talking about it, my Little Dragon." Leaning forwards, Conrart delivered a swift kiss against the softness of the Maou's unresisting mouth. "But just remember I love you."

Yuuri inhaled deeply, holding onto those words with all of his might, relishing the temporary peace it offered to him. However, he was also aware that Lady Ondine had just arrived at the edge of their temporary camp, along with a number of her followers, her presence signalling a drastic change in the mood of everyone present.

Sliding his hands from beneath his beloved's, Yuuri stood, rubbing his hands against his pants, attempting to remove the worse of the blood that coated them. His throat worked as he was now faced with the reality of whether or not the Box that sat upon the shore was actually the last of the Four Forbidden Boxes... or if it was something else entirely.

Ondine's eyes swept Yuuri from head to toe as the Maou approached her with the Prince Consort only a step behind, taking him all in and offering him a reassuring smile. "All the villagers are safe and sound, Sire, all thanks to you and your people."

"We were lucky." The Maou responded quietly, before gesturing with one hand towards the Box that awaited them and their examination.

A perimeter of guards stood about it, keeping well back from the blue patterned wood box, aware of all that it was capable of doing even when it was not in the presence of its Key. All of them came to abrupt attention when the Maou passed by them, the Lady Ondine by his side.

The Maou allowed his gaze to sweep over the Box, reaching out with his senses to lightly probe the outside of it, and was surprised to find that there was nothing particularly _dark_ about it. There was no touch of that evil presence that had accompanied the first two Boxes, however, he couldn't help but wonder if it was similar to the third Box that had been rescued weeks before from Fransia. Striding forwards, he stretched out a hand to lightly press his palm against the wood as everyone watched on. Yet, even with his hand pressed against the damp, water-sodden wood, he could not feel any hint of that rather distinctive presence of the Originators.

Carefully his nails dug into the seam and tugged upwards, revealing to his surprise, bright, almost painfully fluorescent yellow crystals, all of which tinkled softly together as the lid was lifted higher to expose them.

"What the... _demon stones_?!" Wolfram blurted out in surprise. "Honestly... all this over Demon Stones!"

"It's packed with them," Gunter observed, daring to step in closer to press a hand lightly against the wet wood as well. "That's why it's so heavy... but it also explains a lot more."

Both of Yuuri's brows shot upwards, feeling in that moment another short lesson coming on, but honestly he would welcome any kind of explanation in that moment, one that could explain exactly how this Box had accomplished the miracle it was reported to have in this once heavily polluted and barren region of the Great Demon Kingdom. A tiny spark of bemusement actually settled in his heart, especially when he glanced upwards and caught Conrart's laughing, silver eyes.

"Demon Stones, Your Majesty, are a native type of crystal, quite similar to Sveleran Esoteric Stones in that they contain a great deal of energy in various forms." Gunter Von Christ looked quite pleased that for once his impromptu lesson was actually gaining him a little respect and everyone's attention. A very faint flush touched his skin as he glanced towards where Gwendal stood, watching him quite pointedly, the grim line of the man's mouth actually inching upwards ever so slightly at either side... though more than likely in the form of a smirk rather than a smile. "They are sometimes known for their purification abilities, and it appears in this case, their ability to purify and energise both the water table and the soil throughout this region. This might also explain the vigorous and unexpected presence of this forest."

"This is not the 'Bottom of the Mirror'?" Griesela's eyes fixed on the Box in question, the slightest shiver running through the man's body at the remembrance of his first encounter with a Forbidden Box.

"Unfortunately... or maybe in this case, _fortunately_ not," The Maou answered, feeling a touch of relief settled deep within him that he would not be the reason for the destruction of this beautiful and unique place within his Kingdom. Yet, a pang of regret too sounded deep within his soul, knowing that their search was to continue. "There is nothing at all evil about this Box. However, that doesn't mean this area shouldn't be protected and looked after a little more closely to ensure something like this doesn't happen again in the future."

"So this was all just a big waste of time, wasn't it?" Wolfram sighed, seeming to deflate before their eyes at the revelation that this was not what they had come for.

Conrart's eyes fixed upon the restrained soldiers, his head tipping ever so thoughtfully as he examined them. "Maybe not."

"What are you thinking?" The Maou murmured , when he felt his husband step in closer and a strong arm slide tenderly around his waist. Warm breath tickled against his ear, as his gaze followed that of his beloved's, looking at the soldiers and trying not to clench his jaw in anger in the remembrance of what they were responsible for.

"That this might be just the situation we need to help divert King Belar's attention away from our own search for the last Forbidden Box."

Gwendal suddenly let out a bark of startled laughter, clearly catching on to Conrart's thoughts. Dark blue eyes sparkled with a silent, almost gleeful kind of delight at the silent plan unfolding between the two brothers. "Once a fool, _always_ a fool," Gwendal mused.

"You are a fine king, Your Majesty." Ondine suddenly spoke up, drawing Yuuri's puzzled gaze back to her.

A painful flush of shame darkened the Maou's cheeks as he swallowed down against the truth he knew about this situation. The truth... that his own actions had almost cost those he cared about their lives through his hesitation to act-through his own fear and desperation. Emotions he thought he had worked through had risen again, and this situation had showed him that his journey back was a lot longer than he'd supposed it might be. "I..."

"You are a _good_ king." Ondine insisted firmly, her small hands closing around one of the Maou's and squeezing it. In that brief contact between them, she shared her belief and her certainty that Yuuri Shibuya Weller was one of the finest Kings she had had the pleasure to serve throughout her long and eventful life. "Don't ever doubt that."

"See, Little Dragon," Conrart murmured into one delicately shaped ear, his breath teasing against the curve of Yuuri's cheek and jaw. A feather-light kiss brushed against his beloved's skin, just beneath that pretty ear and over the pounding of Yuuri's pulse.

A pink flush suddenly spread across Lady Ondine's own cheeks as she watched the two men share an intimate moment together. She was loath to interrupt, yet she hoped to offer a useful piece of potential information to them. She knew deep in her heart that she would never have any regrets supporting this Maou, that his actions today spoke of a very human, and also a very dedicated Maou, who cared very deeply about his people.

"I heard a story once, Your Majesty." Ondine's voice ended the conversations between all those present as her eyes swept commandingly around all the men's faces, trusting them with information that might mean either the salvation or destruction of all that she held dear. "That in distant lake at the very edge of the world... there was a Box... not so unlike this one. But one day this box was enveloped in an incredible light and rose high into the air... before suddenly it vanished." Pausing for a moment, she knew what she had to say next might just be the clue to the Box's true and final resting place. "It was set to another world... but this all happened millennia ago..."

Yuuri's entire stomach dropped at those words, a flicker of disbelief filling him as he tried to process that information. Could the Forbidden Box they had been searching for be on Earth...or even worse? An entirely different world that rested parallel not only to Earth, but also to this one?!

_Yet, if it had been on Earth, would Bob have not told him... or at least warned him of this? _There were so many new questions that came to him now, along with the knowledge that... he may at some point in his future...be returning to a world he had quietly said goodbye to when he had begun this journey.

"Another world?" Wolfram whispered, his eyes sliding back to gaze at Yuuri with a flicker of curiosity and intrigue lighting them. "Like... your Earth?"

"It's a distinct possibility."

A possibility with a thousand different kinds of consequences, all of which left Yuuri Shibuya Weller worrying about all that was yet to come, and the final confrontation that would be taking place between his people and the dark forces. Those dangerous forces that were slowly tightening a noose around their necks from behind the scenes and in the shadows, enacting a plan that had been thousands of years in the making.

* * *

><p><strong>Covenant Castle, The Great Demon Kingdom<strong>

"The fact is, Your Grace, I haven't been able to find a girlfriend for some reason." The blond-haired peasant peered at the man behind the desk in front of him, with hope burning in his eyes. "What can I do to change this?"

Lord Adalbert Von Grantz lifted his eyes from the mountains of paperwork that covered the Maou's desk and gazed up with resignation at the person his blasted aide had allowed to slip through his fingers and straight in here to set the Captain's teeth on edge. He swore the _bastard_ who called himself an aide was getting revenge upon Adalbert for taking the first opportunity to abandon this duty in favour of tending to other 'more important' matters down in the city. Privately he wondered if he could get away with killing the man and quietly disposing of the body somewhere no one would ever find it. He did know a few rather good places...

"Who _knows_," Adalbert gritted out between clenched teeth, resisting the urge to start banging his forehead against the desk and hopefully knock himself unconscious while doing so. This day had been one that had challenged them all and left him emotionally raw.

"Don't say that!" The man almost wailed, his hands pressed together over his heart, his lower lip almost trembling. "I'm really in a pickle with this problem, really! If I don't do something about this now, my life will be thrown into a world of darkness."

Adalbert's patience and frustration boiled over rather spectacularly. "I gave you my damned answer, now **get out of my office before I have you tossed out!**"

"Thank you, Sir, yes!" The peasant cried out fearfully, his face turning ashen as he gazed down upon the seated man and knew that his life was within mere inches from being over. So he did the only thing that he could think of to possibly save his life; he turned and fled, shouting a, **'YES! THANKYOU SIR!',** over his shoulder as he flew past the others waiting in line... and the oddly smirking aide.

"You _pathetic_ excuse for a man!" A feminine voice cracked like a whip right behind the aide's back, sending the self-satisfied man jumping right out of his skin in shock and raw terror. "How dare you think to treat your superiors like this!"

The aide attempted to reply, his lips parting, but no sound came out as his terror grew as he realized that he was now the focus of the _**Sergeant's**_ anger.

At the first sound of his beloved's voice, Adalbert had stood from his desk and found his way to the doorway, his heart melting inside of him as he watched those green eyes flashing as his beautiful fiancé cut the aide down to size in a way he could never master. Everything that had happened this day melted away as well in the surge of love and pride he felt. His lips curved into a smile as he was reminded in that one perfect moment of what it was he was fighting so hard to keep.

Gisela looked up then, and their gazes locked, and the love he had in his heart for her was like a balm for all of the hurt he'd suffered that day... _so far_. A heavy iron weight settled low in his gut, cold and ugly and he knew that what had happened today was only the beginning of all that was yet to come. A new fear took up residence within him as he was forced to acknowledge that the happiness he had found could also be snatched away from him in a single agonising moment.

Yet, he refused to allow that to be the only thing he felt as he gazed upon the woman he loved, and the one that loved him so deeply in return. If anything, he was stubborn and he refused to let the likes of the Originators find a home inside of his soul.

He would fight to keep this happiness fate had gifted him with all the strength and conviction he possessed.

* * *

><p><strong>On to Episode 47: Proof of Life. I really hoped you enjoyed this massive, MASSIVE chapter, which turned out much bigger than I thought it would. And I would love to hear any ideas in regards to Episode 45: Fiance VS Betrothed. <strong>


End file.
